Homily Christmas Midnight Mass Year B–The Shepherds and Fallen-Away Catholics

To those with us this evening who are new to St. James, friends and relatives of parishioners, on behalf of Fr. Chuck Walker our pastor and Fr. Stan Osborne our senior associate, and on behalf of Deacon Bill, Deacon Karl, and Deacon Joe, and all of our staff, I welcome you to St. James and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. My name is Fr. Matthew Hardesty, the Associate Pastor since June, after my Ordination as a priest in May. I’m very happy to celebrate my first Christmas as a priest with all of you. I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite a while.

Typically at Christmas and Easter, we regular Mass-goers look around at the packed pews and wonder, “Where are all these people every Sunday?!” It’s too easy to look down on the so-called “Christmas and Easter Catholics.” I realize that a lot of our large number of folks today are family and friends visiting for Christmas and attending Mass together. I know that “Twice a Year Catholics” aren’t the only ones making up this large congregation – and it’s not my job to beat up on you all every April and December. Still, I would like to speak to the situations of those who do only come to Mass twice a year, but in a more helpful way that I hope everyone will be able to benefit from.

First, if this is your first time to Mass in a long time… welcome back! You may have been startled to find that the prayers are totally different from what you remember! After almost 10 years of study and prayer, the English-speaking bishops of the world implemented revised translations of the prayers of the Mass which we all began to use about 4 weeks ago. It was determined that the language we had used since Vatican II, while fluid and easy to say, had lost much of the nuance and depth of meaning that was intended. So, new vistas of beauty and meaning have been opened to us to us with the revised translations and the prayers are now more closely aligned with Scripture and the tradition of Catholic worship.

This new, more sacred language has been unsettling for all of us, as we have been challenged to step out of what is comfortable and to think again about what we are saying and what it means. This is a new beginning for all of us and I hope – especially – for fallen-away Catholics as well. This is a great time to come back to the Church, a time of new life and energy for worship. We’re all learning to walk again. Hundreds of people, from this parish alone, are studying their faith in groups, asking the tough questions, and getting answers, perhaps unlike they ever have before. Come and be a part of this exciting time. Come join us as we all make our first steps, again, together. No other Church worships like the Catholic Church does. No other Church roots its worship in a continuous, unbroken tradition, stemming from the Apostles, through the Middle Ages, to Today like we do. No other Church has the Eucharist – the Real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to sustain and feed us – like we do.

Our readings this evening speak most directly though to still other reasons why people fall away from the Church. One reason many men, for example, are not active Catholics today is because of the so-called “feminization” of the Church. Women make up a large percentage of active Catholics, are most involved in the various ministries of the Church, and hold most of the staff positions. Their unique gifts have been a great blessing to the Church. But, some guys then are inclined to think that that there is nothing masculine whatsoever about Catholicism or religion in general. They feel uncomfortable and out of place. “It’s not for me,” they think.

They want a strong priest, with a strong backbone, and a firm handshake who has convictions, who shares their interests, who they can relate to. They want strong role models and brothers they can share their faith with in a uniquely masculine way. I, for one, am trying to live my still-new Priesthood in that way. St. Luke’s Gospel this evening gives us a glimpse of a true role model: St. Joseph.

It is Joseph who took Mary, pregnant with the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, to Bethlehem in order to register in the census; it is Joseph who, in doing this, fulfilled the prophecy of Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; it is Joseph who worked to provide for and protect his family by finding shelter in a nearby cave when there was no room in the inn.[1] St. Bernadine of Siena explains that it was Joseph, our Holy Patriarch, who was “a father to our Lord Jesus Christ and a faithful spouse to the Queen of the Universe, our Lady of the Angels. The eternal Father chose Joseph to be the guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, his Son and his Spouse, and Joseph fulfilled his calling with perfect fidelity. If the Church is indebted to the Blessed Virgin for having given Christ to us, then, after Mary, great gratitude and veneration is also owed to St. Joseph.”[2]

Guys, let’s get back in the game and follow St. Joseph’s lead. He shows us how a man does Catholicism: By being chaste and just; by protecting his family not only from financial or physical hardship, but from spiritual burdens as well; by leading them with his own example; by being a source of strength and guidance. Do we really want our sons and daughters to say of us, “Father took a back seat to the things that matter most.” I don’t think so. I know I don’t want that said of me by all of you, my spiritual sons and daughters.

The eternal Son of God chose to become a man precisely in the context of a human family with a human father and a human mother. Every Christmas he comes again into our own families, making all things new. This is the time when every father can start again if needed, to see himself as the guardian of his own holy family; a time when every man with the power of grace can pray well and do great things.

As much as gender roles have evolved over the decades, studies still continue to show that children learn the most about how to live inside the home from their mothers and how to live outside the home from their fathers. Even when mothers bring their children to Mass every Sunday and are very involved in the Church, the greatest indicator that that faith will continue in children is the faith of the father. When fathers lead the way out the door to Mass every Sunday morning, they teach their children that this is how life is lived outside of the home – among others who pray and are active in their faith.

My final point is about the shepherds who received from the angel the good news of the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord – this scenario, too, can address a reason why some people leave the Church or are not active in it. Long ago, God swore a covenant oath that David would always have an heir to his dynasty. Here in Bethlehem, the hometown of King David and the site of his anointing as king, Jesus Christ is born.[3] By connecting Jesus with David, Luke shows us that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah-King; He is the one who fulfills God’s promises.

The fact that this good news was first revealed to shepherds, an occupation frowned upon by religious Jews, is very consoling for us. This indicates that divine salvation extends to all people. As with these men, God favored numerous shepherds in the Old Testament, including Abel, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and Amos. No matter how unusual or under-classed these shepherds seemed to be, God still used them to witness to his Eternal Son, Emmanuel, God-With-Us. To these shepherds, an entire army of God’s angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” This peace is not the mere absence of conflict but a peace rooted in one’s reconciliation with God.[4]

Sometimes people leave the Church because of shame they feel from something they have done wrong or a situation they have gotten themselves into. The good news is that, like these lowly shepherds, and the mighty shepherds of the Old Testament, whatever happened doesn’t have to disqualify you from witnessing God’s presence. Repent, if you need to, and receive God’s healing mercy, grace, and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us help you with whatever it was that pushed you away. For example, there are many very common misunderstandings about annulments, excommunication, Holy Communion, etc. Give us a chance to walk with you through the suffering to communion again. Come to me personally and I will do all I can to help you. There is a website I also recommend that is very professionally done called “CatholicsComeHome.org.” That website can be helpful in taking the first step.

So many of you are indeed very faithful. I am very blessed to have St. James as my first priesthood assignment. So many of you come to daily Mass, to Mass every Sunday, and to the Sacrament of Reconciliation showing that you take seriously your spiritual lives, have a sense of sin in your life, and a reliance on God’s grace. So many of you spend many hours in Eucharistic Adoration, in youth ministry, in helping the poor through our St. Vincent de Paul chapter, and in many other ministries and devotions. You’ve never fallen away. But to you too, and to all of us, the message remains the same: As part of the holy family that is the Church, Christ is born into our hearts. Through Jesus, the Savior, Christ, and Lord, we are rescued from sin, have a new king in our lives, and a mediator enthroned at God’s right hand. We all are called to receive in our lives the Messiah, the Anointed One, who brings the hope and joy of heaven to us. Every one of us is called to have the faith and courage of St. Joseph and the humility of the shepherds as we accept change in the Church and acknowledge our need for continued reconciliation. If we follow St. Joseph and the shepherds, Christ can continue to make all things new in our lives.

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[1] The Navarre Bible, commentary Lk 1:1-2:23
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, commentary Lk 2:4
[4] Ibid Lk 2:14

Homily Christmas Vigil Mass Year B–St. Joseph and Fallen-Away Catholics

To those with us this evening who are new to St. James, friends and relatives of parishioners, on behalf of Fr. Chuck Walker our pastor and Fr. Stan Osborne our senior associate, and on behalf of Deacon Bill, Deacon Karl, and Deacon Joe, and all of our staff, I welcome you to St. James and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. My name is Fr. Matthew Hardesty, the Associate Pastor since June, after my Ordination as a priest in May. I’m very happy to celebrate my first Christmas as a priest with all of you. I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite a while.

Typically at Christmas and Easter, we regular Mass-goers look around at the packed pews and wonder, “Where are all these people every Sunday?!” It’s too easy to look down on the so-called “Christmas and Easter Catholics.” I realize that a lot of our large number of folks today are family and friends visiting for Christmas and attending Mass together. I know that “Twice a Year Catholics” aren’t the only ones making up this large congregation – and it’s not my job to beat up on you all every April and December. Still, I would like to speak to the situations of those who do only come to Mass twice a year, but in a more helpful way that I hope everyone will be able to benefit from.

First, if this is your first time to Mass in a long time… welcome back! You may have been startled to find that the prayers are totally different from what you remember! After almost 10 years of study and prayer, the English-speaking bishops of the world implemented revised translations of the prayers of the Mass which we all began to use about 4 weeks ago. It was determined that the language we had used since Vatican II, while fluid and easy to say, had lost much of the nuance and depth of meaning that was intended. So, new vistas of beauty and meaning have been opened to us to us with the revised translations and the prayers are now more closely aligned with Scripture and the tradition of Catholic worship.

This new, more sacred language has been unsettling for all of us, as we have been challenged to step out of what is comfortable and to think again about what we are saying and what it means. This is a new beginning for all of us and I hope – especially – for fallen-away Catholics as well. This is a great time to come back to the Church, a time of new life and energy for worship. We’re all learning to walk again. Hundreds of people, from this parish alone, are studying their faith in groups, asking the tough questions, and getting answers, perhaps unlike they ever have before. Come and be a part of this exciting time. Come join us as we all make our first steps, again, together. No other Church worships like the Catholic Church does. No other Church roots its worship in a continuous, unbroken tradition, stemming from the Apostles, through the Middle Ages, to Today like we do. No other Church has the Eucharist – the Real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to sustain and feed us – like we do.

Our readings this evening speak most directly though to still other reasons why people fall away from the Church. One reason many men, for example, are not active Catholics today is because of the so-called “feminization” of the Church. Women make up a large percentage of active Catholics, are most involved in the various ministries of the Church, and hold most of the staff positions. Their unique gifts have been a great blessing to the Church. But, some guys then are inclined to think that that there is nothing masculine whatsoever about Catholicism or religion in general. They feel uncomfortable and out of place. “It’s not for me,” they think.

They want a strong priest, with a strong backbone, and a firm handshake who has convictions, who shares their interests, who they can relate to. They want strong role models and brothers they can share their faith with in a uniquely masculine way. I, for one, am trying to live my still-new Priesthood in that way. But, guys, St. Matthew’s Gospel this evening shows us a true role model: St. Joseph.

Matthew’s gospel focuses a great deal on St. Joseph. It is Joseph who is given, by an angel, the explanation of the virginal conception of the Christ Child; it is Joseph who takes Mary as his wife and names the Child, Jesus; it is Joseph who takes the Child and his mother and flees to Egypt to protect them; it is Joseph who returns the Holy Family to the land of Israel after Herod died and the danger was over.[1] St. Bernadine of Siena explains that it was Joseph, our Holy Patriarch, who was “a father to our Lord Jesus Christ and a faithful spouse to the Queen of the Universe, our Lady of the Angels. The eternal Father chose Joseph to be the guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, his Son and his Spouse, and Joseph fulfilled his calling with perfect fidelity. If the Church is indebted to the Blessed Virgin for having given Christ to us, then, after Mary, great gratitude and veneration is also owed to St. Joseph.”[2]

Guys, let’s get back in the game and follow St. Joseph’s lead. He shows us how a man does Catholicism: By being chaste and just; by protecting his family not only from financial or physical hardship, but from spiritual burdens as well; by leading them with his own example; by being a source of strength and guidance. Do we really want our sons and daughters to say of us, “Father took a back seat to the things that matter most.” I don’t think so. I know I don’t want that said of me by all of you, my spiritual sons and daughters.

The eternal Son of God chose to become a man precisely in the context of a human family with a human father and a human mother. Every Christmas he comes again into our own families, making all things new. This is the time when every father can start again if needed, to see himself as the guardian of his own holy family; a time when every man with the power of grace can pray well and do great things.

As much as gender roles have evolved over the decades, studies still continue to show that children learn the most about how to live inside the home from their mothers and how to live outside the home from their fathers. Even when mothers bring their children to Mass every Sunday and are very involved in the Church, the greatest indicator that that faith will continue in children is the faith of the father. When fathers lead the way out the door to Mass every Sunday morning, they teach their children that this is how life is lived outside of the home – among others who pray and are active in their faith.

My final point is about the long genealogy of Jesus that was read at the beginning of the Gospel – it too can address a reason why some people leave the Church or are not active in it. This is more than just a boring list of hard-to-pronounce names. The list is very intentional and carefully composed in order to show that God keeps his promises. He promised that kings would stem from Abraham’s line and he later swore a covenant oath that David would always have an heir to his dynasty.[3] By tracing Jesus’ genealogy from Abraham to King David to King Solomon to Joseph, Matthew shows us that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah-King. He is the one who fulfills God’s promises.

This is meaningful for us because some of the people in Jesus’ lineage are scandalous and unusual. For example, four women are named besides Mary, which was quite uncommon: Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Ruth. All four were foreigners, Gentiles. Three of them were associated with sexual immorality. Yet they were still drawn into salvation history to show that divine salvation extends to everyone of all nations. No matter how unusual or immoral they were, Jesus ancestors didn’t throw off the line, they didn’t disqualify him as the Messiah. God the Father was still able to use them to lead to his Eternal Son, Emmanuel, God-With-Us.

Sometimes people leave the Church because of shame they feel from something they have done wrong or a situation they have gotten themselves into. The good news is that, like Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Ruth, whatever happened doesn’t have to disqualify you from God’s presence in your life. Repent, if you need to, and receive God’s healing mercy, grace, and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us help you with whatever it was that pushed you away. For example, there are many very common misunderstandings about annulments, excommunication, Holy Communion, etc. Give us a chance to walk with you through the suffering to communion again. Come to me personally and I will do all I can to help you. There is a website I also recommend that is very professionally done called “CatholicsComeHome.org.” That website can be helpful in taking the first step.

So many of you are indeed very faithful. I am very blessed to have St. James as my first priesthood assignment. So many of you come to daily Mass, to Mass every Sunday, and to the Sacrament of Reconciliation showing that you take seriously your spiritual lives, have a sense of sin in your life, and a reliance on God’s grace. So many of you spend many hours in Eucharistic Adoration, in youth ministry, in helping the poor through our St. Vincent de Paul chapter, and in many other ministries and devotions. You’ve never fallen away. But to you too, and to all of us, the message remains the same: As part of the holy family that is the Church, Christ is born into our hearts. Through Joseph’s line, the Father keeps his promises to us too. We all are called to receive in our lives the Messiah, the Anointed One, who brings the hope and joy of heaven to us. Every one of us can benefit from the protection and prayers of St. Joseph, the foster father of the Church. We all are called to follow Joseph’s lead, whether by participating more deeply in the Mass or cultivating the faith of our family, so that Christ can continue to make all things new.

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[1] The Navarre Bible, commentary Lk 1:1-2:23
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, commentary Mt 1:2-17

Homily 4th Sun Advent Year B – The Consoling Light of the New Ark

Today we have finally reached the Fourth and last Sunday of Advent. During the tail-end of this season, from Dec 17 to 23, the Church observes the ancient custom of praying, during Evening Prayer each day, one of the seven “O” Antiphons. The “O” Antiphons are Old Testament titles for the Messiah, each beginning with the invocation “O”. They are “O Wisdom,” “O Lord,” “O Root of Jesse,” “O Key of David,” “O Dayspring,” “O King of Nations” and finally “O Emmanuel.” There is a verse for each one in the famous hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. They are also references to the prophecy of Isaiah and are a rich source for personal prayer and reflection during these final days of preparation for Christmas.[1] Today’s title is “O Lord,” but I want to reflect on “O Dayspring,” (or “O Morning Star” or “O Light from the East”) because next Sunday is Christmas and as some of us get a little blue this time of year, it may be helpful to see Christ’s coming as one that can bring light into our lives. There is a beautiful hymn that accompanies his title, “O Dayspring”:[2]

O very God of very God,
And very Light of Light,
Whose feet this earth’s dark valley trod,
That so it might be bright:

Our hopes are weak, our fears are strong,
Thick darkness blinds our eyes;
Cold is the night, and, oh, we long
That you, our Sun, would rise!

And even now, through dull and grey,
The east is brightening fast,
And kindling to the perfect day
That never shall be past.

Oh, guide us till our path is done,
And we have reached the shore
Where you, our Everlasting Sun,
Are shining evermore!

We are beginning to see, coming from the East, the rays of the brightly shining Everlasting Son of God beaming from the Christ Child. But, in our readings today we do not see him, it seems that he is not here yet. Where do these glimmers of light in the distance come from? Are they merely an illusion from our minds weakened by darkness or sadness, from our eyes straining to see? No, Christ is indeed shining in our readings. Resting in the womb of His Blessed Mother, he shines forth in her beauty, the beauty of the Ark of the New Covenant, just as God centuries before shined forth to his chosen people from the Ark of the Old Covenant. This is the Light we are seeing, the light bursting forth in the beauty of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Your mental image of the Ark of the Covenant may be like mine. Sometimes I imagine that Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. There, Indiana and his trusty Egyptian sidekick break through the roof of the Well of Souls and Indiana has to go first through all the snakes and cobras. They finally hoist the Ark out of the Well only to have it taken by the Nazis. So I imagine this huge golden chest between two long poles as it’s depicted in the movie. Actually in the Old Testament it’s described as being only about 2.5ft square and about 4.5ft long, not near as imposing as in the movie, but it was equally elaborate. It was made of special acacia wood which was incorruptible, was covered inside and out with the purest, finest gold, and had a ring of gold on top. On each of the two sides were two gold rings that two wooden poles went through to allow the Ark to be carried. Even these poles were sheathed in gold. Over the Ark, at the two ends, were two cherubim, with their faces turned toward one another. Their outspread wings over the top of the Ark formed the throne of God, while the Ark itself was his footstool.[3]

The Ark of the Covenant was built so magnificently because it stood for God’s very presence among the Hebrews. The Book of Lamentations called it “the beauty of Israel.” It also held inside three items that were crucial to their faith and identity: the tablets of the 10 commandments of God’s Law; a golden vase containing the manna from heaven that fed them in the desert; and the rod of the high priest, Aaron, that bloomed in affirmation of his priesthood. But the beauty of the ark was not only due to what it symbolized or what it contained but what it prefigured, what it pointed to in the future: The beauty and purity of the Ark of the New Covenant: The Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the point that St. Luke is trying to make in today’s Gospel: We now have a New Ark of a New Covenant with a beauty the Old Ark only aspired to have.

This point is packed with meaning! First the gold lining and covering of the old Ark pointed to the Immaculate purity of the Virgin Mary, the New Ark. And the three things the old Ark contained – The tablets of the Law, the golden vase of manna, and the rod of Aaron – are also in the New Ark in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the author of the Law, He is the Bread from Heaven, and He is the eternal High Priest. Mary now assumes a role in Salvation History that was once played by the old Ark of the Covenant. Like this golden chest, she is a sacred vessel where the Lord’s presence dwells intimately with his people.[4]

“Ave!” – “Hail!” the Archangel Gabriel exclaims to her, “full of grace! The Lord is with you.” This salutation, “Hail!” meant “Rejoice” to the Hebrew people and it was their cry of Joy because God had chosen to dwell in their midst. Mary is greeted with this same cry of Joy because she is the embodiment of faithful Israel and in her very midst indeed dwells our Lord and God![5] Also, by calling her “full of grace” we have the only instance in the Bible where an angel greets a person by a title instead of a name.[6] This shows her singular importance among the history of mankind. And because fullness admits nothing else, Gabriel teaches us that Mary has been and is now filled with divine life and therefore free from all sin from the moment of her conception. When Gabriel explains how Mary is to bear the Light of the World, he says very carefully that “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This is the same expression used in the Book of Exodus to describe how Yahweh “overshadowed” the Ark, making it his dwelling place in Israel.[7]

I know this is a bit academic, but the reason I have described some of the parallels between the old Ark of the Covenant and the Blessed Virgin Mary is because I wanted you all to see the outstanding beauty that Luke attributes to our Blessed Mother. She gives us hope to keep squinting for the light of the New Day ahead, Christmas Morning when Christ, the Light of the World, will dispel the darkness of sin and sadness. Mary’s beauty glows with this Light so that we can draw near to her during this week, trusting that she will soon show us the Light of a New Hope, a New Way, a New Life, a New Day. We can find joy in our remaining preparation. We can rejoice with Mary in the silence of our hearts. We can hear her sweet voice singing to us, the New Israel:

O come, O Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

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[1] “Praying the ‘O’ Antiphons”, The Magnificat Advent Companion, p. 83-91
[2] Ibid., p. 83
[3] "Ark of the Covenant." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 17 Dec 2008, 15:06 UTC. 19 Dec 2008
[4] “Mary, Ark of the Covenant”, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Luke, by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, p. 21
[5] Ibid., footnote Lk 1:28 “Hail”, p. 19
[6] Ibid., footnote Lk 1:28 “full of grace”
[7] Ibid., footnote Lk 1:35 “overshadow you”

Homily 3rd Sun Advent Year B – Rejoice in the Lord Always

At Mass today, we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, also known by it’s Latin name Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice!” which is the first word of our Entrance Antiphon: Gaudete in Domino semper! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Indeed, the Lord is near.” This is an excellent encouragement we are given as we enter our Mass. In all of our readings today we see woven through them the thread of Joy. I think the key this Sunday is Christian Joy that is ours when Christ is near. Our penances, prayers, and other sacrifices we have made this Advent in order to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord are bearing fruit and our wait is almost over. There is cause for great Joy which is signified by our use of Rose-colored vestments. Our Lord will be born again in our hearts, bursting forth with the light of day.

Unfortunately, Joy can be an elusive virtue because it is often misunderstood. We always tend to either undercut it, by defining it too superficially, or over-emphasize it by making it too proud. In undercutting it, we can think that Joy is simply that feeling we get when things go our way. It is not very deep-seated. In over-emphasizing it we can turn Joy into a haughtiness or giddiness, like the feeling we have when we win or are successful and another person loses or fails. Either way, we tend to base it on our circumstances which are always fleeting and never endure. Or we base it on some future condition, like: “If I could only get a different job, then I’d be happy. If I could only date this or that person, then I’d be happy. If I could only get over this illness, then I’d be happy.” This is easy for us all to get caught up in. But too often, what we find is when we get what we wanted – maybe even all together! – we are still not satisfied. That is because the things or the people that we think will make us happy can never bear the weight of our happiness, the happiness we all seek in every action that we make.

Everything we say or do, from the mundane to the profound, is done to attain happiness. This is good because it is in our nature to do so. But, we must base this happiness on a foundation that will not fade away or let us down. Only Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made, can bear the weight of our unquenchable happiness. We have an infinite desire for happiness that is rooted in our soul, and can only be satisfied by he who is all in all, the Alpha and the Omega, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Soon he will come again and true Christian Joy can be ours anew.

Our readings have helped us to learn what true Christian Joy is all about – so that we can avoid undercutting it, over-emphasizing it, or placing it solely on the shoulders of a particular person or thing – so we can approach it the right way and live it out well. In our first reading, Isaiah writes a beautiful poetic description of Joy. First it is characterized by closeness to the Lord. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” he says, “he has sent me to bring glad tidings.” This Joy leads him to serve his fellow man, “the poor”, to “heal the broken hearted”, to “proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.” We know our Joy is true when it leads us to do those things too. Who in your family, at your school, or at your work could use glad tidings brought to him? Whose day could you make a little easier this Advent? Who do you know that is broken-hearted, that could use a visit, or a phone call, or a letter to assure them that Christ, our Rock, will never leave them? Who do you know that is being held captive and prisoner to addiction or to unhealthy relationships? When the joy we receive from being close to Christ causes us to serve others then true Christian Joy becomes theirs as well.

Also in Isaiah, see how deep-seated his joy is, it is not superficial, it is not easily lost. “I rejoice heartily in the Lord,” he exclaims, “in my God is the joy of my soul.” His Joy, which is rooted in and springs from his soul, is like that of a bride and groom who are nearly bursting with joy as they prepare for their magnificent wedding: “like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.” Just like true Joy leads to service and comes out of service, it also comes out of holy marriages and families. The marriage of a man and a woman should cause deep-seated joy in their children and in their community that mirrors the Joy that wells up in the Sacred Heart of Our Lord in his Marriage to the Church. This joy should be the center of Catholic family life. When it is, it lends a peaceful lightheartedness between children and parents and between neighbors and friends. This Joy is the will of God for all of our families and it is never too late to recommit ourselves too it or to help each other to achieve it.

Our Responsorial Psalm also has a beautiful picture of Joy and it happens to contain one of my favorite passages from Luke: Mary’s Magnificat. “Magnificat, anima mea Dominum,” she exclaims! “My soul ‘magnifies’ or ‘proclaims the greatness’ of the Lord, my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary proclaims this moving Canticle out of the Joy she has in visiting her cousin Elizabeth who gave homage to our Lord still in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. Here too the spirit of the Lord is upon his chosen one. Here too closeness to God leads to service and Joy. God rests in Mary’s very self, under the light of her Immaculate Heart. The overwhelming Joy of this fact moves Mary to make a treacherous journey alone to help Elizabeth who was pregnant in her old age, “for nothing is impossible with God.”

When true Joy seems impossible to find, know that in a heart properly disposed rests the same Lord of our daily Eucharist who rested in the womb of our Blessed Mother. This too should bring us much Joy. In the face of such joy we must do what St. Paul instructed the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.” This is precisely what the word “Eucharist” means; it comes from a Greek word meaning “to give thanks.” A heart filled with Christian Joy can only give thanks to God. St. Paul was always filled with gratitude to God, even in the midst of intense suffering, because he knew and believed that his Joy was not founded on his circumstances in life, but on the Lord who will not change, who will not waver, who will not flinch in his faithfulness to us. During these times of suffering, Joy remains not in the outward signs of laughter or cheers but in an internal Peace and Consolation that refuses to let suffering have the last say. This is possible for all of us too if we hold onto our faith and not give in to bitterness or cynicism.

“A man named John was sent from God,” our Gospel said, “He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” It is Faith in Jesus Christ, the Faith for which John paved the way, that will end in unimaginable Joy. With Faith, Joy is empowered not only to meet our deepest human longings but to satisfy them more than we could have ever imagined. And this Faith is not in a set of principles, not in a list of rules, or a framework of ideas. Our Faith is in a Person, the Word of God, Jesus Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten Son from the Father… And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:14-16).

Homily 2nd Sun Advent Year B – Vocation and Voice

Today, the Second Sunday of Advent, the Church puts before us the figure of St. John the Baptist. Now, sometimes when I think of him, I imagine that camel hair shirt and his eating of locusts! Those always grab my attention when I’m reading the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. It’s easy for me, and maybe you too as the long year winds down, to lose focus on his example beyond those things. Thankfully, we have this season of Advent to take seriously again John’s message. What does it mean to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”? What’s the difference between John’s baptism and Jesus’? Why does John say that he is “not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of [Jesus’] sandals”? Even though our Gospel reading for today is made up of only eight verses, we can see much in John the Baptist’s mission and his words that can be helpful for us as we prepare for the coming of the Lord.

First, did you notice the lead up to John the Baptist in the readings beforehand? I always enjoy discovering how all of the readings tie together each Sunday. I think the Church wants us to listen closely to the readings in this way, to listen for the connections, and the brilliant way in which all of salvation history points to Christ and the glory of the Father. This buildup, from our first reading in Isaiah, to the Responsorial Psalm, to the second letter of St. Peter, culminates in the Gospel as St. John the Baptist bursts onto the scene. We get the feeling, when we listen closely to the trajectory of the readings that John’s meaning in life, his vocation, the reason he was put on this earth was prepared for him since the times of the great Old Testament Prophets. John’s life’s mission is to prepare the way of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to till the soil of men’s hearts to be able to receive the seeds that Jesus will plant.

The Prophet Isaiah exclaims, “A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!... Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed… Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God!” It’s as if the prophet Isaiah has given to John the Baptist, centuries before his arrival, the very words that he should say. Then our Responsorial Psalm helps us understand the way that John prepared for Jesus. He didn’t just “spread the word” as if our Lord’s public appearance was some holy gossip to spread among the land. No, John prepared mankind for Jesus in a particular way, with Justice.

And so we heard at the end of the psalm, “Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps.” John fervently preached to all of the people to acknowledge their sins before God and to symbolize their repentance by being washed in the Jordan River. By being repentant, we return to God what belongs to Him, our Love. That’s what Justice is all about; giving to God and to each other what they are due. Repentance also helps us to behave correctly. Our second reading asks us, “what sort of persons ought you to be”? It then answers: “conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God”. John the Baptist was the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first herald of the New Testament; he perfectly takes the torch of all who came before him and carries it forward.

When we look at John the Baptist’s noble vocation, let’s not think that he is merely an isolated figure stuck in history two thousand years ago. We too are John the Baptist. We see how John inherited and echoed all of the prophecy that came before him. John also exceeded the prophets because he got to see with his own eyes the Messiah they longed for, he believed in Him, and he baptized Him. It seems like John is too special for us to relate too. But, God has prepared from all eternity your vocation as well!

Just stop and think about that for a second. From all eternity, before time began, God planned your personal, individual, vocation; your mission; your reason for being. Do you know what your vocation is? What God has prepared for you before the world began? Every single one of us has a vocation. Perhaps you are living it now, in a married life, where husband and wife prepare each other and their family to receive the Lord when he comes. Perhaps your vocation is to the Diaconate or the Priesthood where you will prepare souls for the Lord through the grace of the sacraments. Perhaps your vocation is to religious life as a nun, a sister, or a brother where you will prepare the Church through prayer and work. Or perhaps it is as a lay single person as you go out into all the spheres of the world – businesses, stores, the schools, the streets – making “straight in the wasteland a highway for our God”.

Whatever your vocation, know that a true vocation from God is always one that prepares for his Son and relies not on our abilities but on his grace. Our entire lives as Catholics are ones of waiting for the Lord, looking toward Him, and preparing for His coming. Do not despair if God’s will is coming to you with difficulty. Have faith that every one of us has a vocation that, though it may be in common with others, is tailor-made for our own, unique, individual salvation. There is a particular way, a path, along which God wants to make you a saint. When you discover it, let John the Baptist teach you not only what to do and what to say, but how to say it; how to live it. Let’s look again at the beautiful picture of John that our readings today have painted.

See how first we are told to “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly.” Then “the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together”. Notice the glory is not in the messenger, but in the tender message, or rather the Word of God, Jesus Christ. Then we heard the Psalm begin “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.” The messenger hears not the words of his own agenda, but focuses on what God proclaims. And since he “await[s] these things, [he is] eager to be found without spot or blemish… [and] at peace.”

Then we see John in the Gospel, “And this is what he proclaimed: ‘One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” John knew that his ministry was never about him, never about how good of a preacher he was to have been able to draw “People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem” to him in the waters of the Jordan River. It was only all about Jesus, who John describes as mighty, like a king. The lowest most insignificant servant of a king was the one who had the often dirty and unhealthy job of loosening the king’s sandals and caring for his feet. But John, in his great humility would not even dare to “stoop and loosen the thongs of [Jesus’] sandals.” This is how John shows us how to live out our unique vocation: with profound humility. Even Christ’s mission is mightier than John’s, for John’s baptism “with water” merely symbolized repentance from sin, but Jesus’ Baptism “with the Holy Spirit” [and water] actually effects what it symbolizes. Pouring water over the head in Baptism is a symbol of sins being washed away from the soul, and they truly are washed away.

Despite these vivid examples, the most striking one of John’s humility is one that I know I’ve read over hundreds of times before without catching it. St. Mark, at the beginning of his Gospel, simply describes John as a “voice.” He is simply “A voice of one crying out in the desert”. John is just a voice. He was so humble before the message of God that he became the message, the voice, of God the Father.[1]

Today, as we remember St. John the Baptist, with the help of his prayers we too can go forth and speak this message of repentance to our coworkers, our friends, and our relatives. From the heart of our own God-given vocation, with great humility, we too can not only speak but become the message, the Word of God, Jesus Christ. And we will always point to Him rather than ourselves because, after all, it is “the mouth of the LORD [that] has spoken.”

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[1] In Conversation with God, Volume One, p. 59, by Fr. Francis Fernandez

Homily 1st Sun Advent Year B – Looking Forward to Christ as He Comes Toward Us

Msgr. Ronald Knox, a famous early-twentieth century English convert to Catholicism and a brilliant homilist, characterized Advent as a traveler in the night who with bleary eyes squints at the faint light of his destination ahead. Because the darkness clouds his depth perception he plods forward hoping that the light is only a few hundred yards ahead rather than a few miles. The Hebrew prophets were very much like this traveler as they looked forward to the redemption of their people and the restoration of a true king in the line of David. They did not know how long it would take for this glimmer of light to break out into perfect day, they just knew that some day it would.[1]

We’ve all had experiences like this in our journeys through life haven’t we? One example comes quickly to my mind: driving to Owensboro to visit my family. When I had parish assignments up in Louisville as a seminarian and as a deacon, and when the Sherman Minton bridge was open, I used to take I-64 W to 231 S to Owensboro. When I finally get on 231 S I can’t wait to see the glimmer of the new bridge in the distance that crosses into Daviess County. I always thank God when I arrive there.

Msgr. Knox’s point is that we should always have the attitude of “looking forward” to Christ. To help form this attitude in us, the Church gives us the four weeks of Advent. During this time we look forward to Christ’s advent, his coming, on Christmas Day. Actually the word “advent” can be broken up into the Latin phrase “ad venire” which means “to come towards.” His coming towards us at Christmas isn’t the only one we are preparing for though. Let us not forget his coming at our particular judgment at the moment of death or his Second Coming for the Last Judgment at the end of time. Both will come suddenly so we must be prepared.

But, there is another coming which could be easily forgotten because it happens so frequently: His coming in the Eucharist at this very Mass. Every Mass we attend, daily or on the weekend, is its own little Advent – just as real as Christmas morning – that we should also seriously prepare for. Praise God for the revised translations of the Missal that we begin to use today – hopefully what perhaps as become commonplace can become ever-new.  All of these “advents”, at Mass, at Christmas, at death, and at the end of time require careful and determined preparation.

The prophet Isaiah exclaims in our first reading, “No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!” The author of our Responsorial Psalm pleads with the Lord, “Rouse your power and come to save us… Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name.” St. Paul, in our second reading, instructs the Corinthians not be “lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Finally, St. Mark’s Gospel is the most forceful of all. Our Lord pleads with his people in return, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come… May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

How then should we prepare? I would like to propose four ways – maybe you could use the acronym PERM, “P”, “E”, “R”, “M.”, standing for “Purification”, “Examination”, “Reconciliation”, and “Motivation.” Spending some quiet time before or after Mass; during Mass after the Homily or after receiving Holy Communion; or even alone before the tabernacle, or in conversation with your family at home, could help you with this exercise.

First, Purification. What are the things that make us impure and unready to receive the Lord in our hearts at Christmas? Will he find our hearts divided among cares of this world and unavailable to him? If our hearts are not pure we must make use of little acts of penance, called mortifications, that can transform our hearts into our own personal Bethlehem’s. For example, spending 15 minutes to read the accounts of the Nativity in the Gospels rather than our favorite magazine or novel can infuse our hearts with the Word of God. Or praying one decade of the rosary instead of playing our favorite video game or surfing the Internet can let our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Hearts, prepare our hearts for her Son like she prepared the manger.

So that is the “P” in P.E.R.M., “Purification.” Now the “E,” “Examination.” For this we tend to limit it to the examination of conscience that we perform before we go to Confession. And Advent is certainly a good time to renew our efforts in this exercise, to take it more seriously, to give it more thought and time and prayer. But I would like to suggest examination as a normal part of the day as well. Regular examination of our spiritual lives is the beginning of conversion and this will prepare us for a happy death, a particular advent that we need not fear. Again, St. Mark reminds us, “Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.” We can practice this, for example, when we wake up in the morning. We can ask ourselves, “How prepared am I for the responsibilities of this day? What prayer should I say, which saint should I turn to for help in today’s particular challenges?” At night before we go to sleep we can ask ourselves, “How did I do today? Did I reveal or obscure Christ to those I met? Did I place myself in occasions of sin? For what sins can I ask forgiveness before I sleep?

So now we have the “P” and the “E” of our acronym P.E.R.M, “Purification” and “Examination.” The third letter, “R”, stands for “Reconciliation.” This time I would like to focus specifically on the sacrament. I cannot say enough how crucial the sacrament of Reconciliation is in the life of a Catholic. Our whole life is characterized by a preparation and a waiting for the Lord, but especially before major feast days like Christmas and Easter. It is a traditional practice that confession lines are always longer before these holy days and priests, me included, should be patient and generous with Our Lord’s forgiveness. Frequent celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, monthly or weekly, for both mortal and venial sins, can increase our sorrow for our sins, mature our acts of penance, increase our resolve against occasions of sin, and strengthen our intention to change our lives. Freedom from sin in general, sacramental grace, and the counsel of the priest strengthen us for the journey to the Light of Christ ahead of us. And Freedom from mortal sin in particular allows us to worthily receive Communion at Mass.

Finally, after Purification, Examination, and Reconciliation, we have our last letter, “M,” which stands for “Motivation.” Motivation is an Advent challenge not only to those who are non-practicing Catholics, but also for those who are heavily involved in the Church. The inactive and the active alike must ask themselves, “Why do I do what I do?” Am I inactive because of fear or ignorance? Am I active so that others can see me? Am I inactive because I am too proud to ask for help? Am I active because of the feelings I get when I can behold the results? Remember, whether we are active or inactive, our Lord judges our actions not by their results but by their motivation, by the intention of our hearts. When he comes at Mass, at Christmas, at death, and at the end of time will we receive him with pure motives?

Now we are complete: PERM, “P”, “E”, “R”, “M”: Purification, Examination, Reconciliation, and Motivation. I think these could be good spiritual exercises as we prepare together for Christmas. Then, as Msgr. Ronald Knox would conclude, we can “take the shepherd[s] for our guides, and imagine ourselves travelling with them, at dead of night, straining our eyes towards that chink of light which streams out, we know, from the cave at Bethlehem.”[2]

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[1] In Conversation with God, vol. 1, p. 1, by Fr. Francis Fernandez.

[2] Ibid, p. 2

Homily Christ the King Year A – His Kingship is Like No Other

After high school, I didn’t enter seminary right away like some of the guys I went to seminary with did. I loved computers and wanted to some day work in a high-tech field like web development. I went to Lindsey Wilson College, a small school in south central KY and was a computer science major. I remember when I was a freshman I was looking through the manual for my major and shuddered at the description of the Capstone Project that was required after my senior year. It was to be a completely original project that summed up my entire four years of computer science learning. It sounded pretty scary. My project ended up being a system that gathered and reported data on the technology demands of the buildings and the student body of the college.

Today, we all together have our own sort of Capstone Project: The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. We celebrate it on the last weekend of Ordinary Time, at the end of another Church Year. Next weekend marks the beginning of Advent, the beginning of a new Church Year. Why then do we celebrate Christ the King at the end? I think it is for a similar reason that we have academic Capstone Projects. The Church wants to teach us that by putting his Kingship at the end of the year we can see that His Crown is the Crown of the year, the capstone. A capstone is the top stone of a structure or wall but it is also the crowning achievement.[1] All of the action of the Church Year moves forward and up to His Kingship and is summed up by it. He is the King of all we have done in the Church this year and all we have celebrated. Everything from his Incarnation to his Ascension is both a sign of and a testament to his Kingship which is not only spiritual but real and human as well. He can’t be the king of our lives though unless we come to know His Kingship for he is unlike any king we have ever known.

Our first reading from Ezekiel prefigures Christ as a loving shepherd who tends his flock. “I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered,” says the Lord God, “when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest.” In our Responsorial Psalm, he gives us, his sheep, repose in verdant pastures; he leads us beside restful waters; he refreshes our souls; and he guides us on right paths. In our second reading St. Paul teaches us that he gives us new life and in our Gospel he is made known in those who are hungry, thirsty, foreign, naked, ill, and imprisoned. Does this sound like any of our kings or leaders today? Only the great saintly kings of old gave us a true image of Christ’s Kingship, like Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England or Saint Louis, King of France. Too many of our leaders today follow not the example of these saintly kings but of the one described in the famous 16^th century book, The Prince, by Machiavelli. There, “political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit is advocated to maintain authority and carry out policies.”[2] This, I’m afraid, is all too familiar.

But, let us not be fooled into thinking that Christ’s Kingship is just a weak alternative. Let us not regard him as simply timid and sweet as we see him at his Nativity. Again, turning to our readings, it is true that in Ezekiel he seeks out the lost, brings back the strays, binds up the injured, and heals the sick, but the sleek and strong he will destroy, “shepherding them rightly.” He will not tolerate those sheep who try to evade or usurp his authority. In our responsorial psalm “he will spread the tables before me in the sight of my foes.” He is not ashamed to lavish rich blessings upon his chosen ones; our foes can jeer all they want.

In our second reading, St. Paul teaches that at Jesus’ second coming, he will destroy all that is evil, even death, the result of man’s first sin. And by his Might and Merciful Justice everything will be subjected to him and he will reign Supreme. Finally from our Gospel we learn of his just judgment; we see that “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.” And “He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

But, all this talk of shepherding rightly, spreading out tables, having victory over death, and proclaiming judgment is of his spiritual kingship. What about his life as a man? Wasn’t he pretty weak then? Well, I would say that “meek” is a better word. While still in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary he relied on her flesh and blood and the power of the Holy Spirit for life, yet she was still his living throne, a tabernacle. Our Lord was the King Messiah that the Jews had long awaited. The Archangel Gabriel announced, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33). As an infant his new throne was a simple wooden manger. Yet the magi, probably royal figures themselves, came to offer him gifts fit for a king: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. His kingship as a man was meek and moderated. He did not allow the royalty of his divinity, his claim on all creation, to have the glorious splendor it deserved. But this did not make his human kingship any less real or less royal.

Our Lord gradually revealed his kingship so that it could be acceptable and accurately understood. Therefore, on some occasions, when a crowd was enthusiastic about a miracle, "Jesus, knowing that they would seize Him and make Him king, fled to the mountain, Himself alone" (John 6:14). And He often, after working a great miracle told the people not to tell anyone. So many held a false notion of what the King Messiah was to be; they expected a great temporal conqueror who would free them from Roman oppression. But He did not come to exercise earthly power. He wanted a spiritual reign, to rule over hearts. He said as much to Pilate when Pilate asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingship is not of this world… For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.’”[3] This truth he showed the whole world when he made his cross his last earthly throne: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Upon his death on the cross, “God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee must [bend], in heaven and on earth and under the earth; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).

What then does Christ’s spiritual and human kingship mean for us? As Vatican II said, the Catholic Church is the “initial budding forth” of the Kingdom of God on earth.[4] Each one of us is called to participate in this kingdom and expand it through our good works. The Lord should be present in our families, present among our friends, present among our neighbors and colleagues at work.

St. Josemaria Escriva taught us firmly on this feast of Christ the King:

Against those who reduce religion to a set of negative statements, or are happy to settle for a watered-down Catholicism; against those who wish to see the Lord with his face against the wall, or to put him in a corner of our souls, we have to affirm, with our words and with our deeds, that we aspire to make Christ the King reign indeed over all hearts.[5]

We cannot wait for the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God at the Last Judgment our Gospel describes. Let us work on this Capstone Project now so that Christ the King will reign in our minds with firm belief in truth and doctrine; reign in our will with obedience to the laws of God; and reign in our hearts with love for God above all things. Then we will be able to confidently pray with the good thief who was crucified alongside Jesus: “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power” (Lk 23:42).

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[1] "Capstone." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 02 Dec. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Capstone>.

[2] "Machiavellian." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 02 Dec. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Machiavellian>.

[3] “Kingship of Christ, Queenship of Mary in Scripture,” by Rev. William Most

[4] Lumen gentium, 5

[5] In Conversation with God, Vol. 5, “Christ the King”, by Fr. Francis Fernandez

Homily 33rd Sun O.T. Year A–Love Makes Service Easy

Like my other recent homilies, this is a revision of a homily I wrote a few years ago but never delivered to a congregation.

As we approach the end of Ordinary Time, our readings have been preparing us for the theme of the coming season of Advent: being prepared and ready for the coming of the Lord; not only at Christmas, but also at our own death, and at the end of time. Today’s readings show us a special way in which we can be prepared: by being faithful stewards. I know the word “stewardship” and the familiar phrase “time, talent, and treasure” are used too much. Sometimes I wonder if they have lost their meaning. We focus too much on questions like “how much do I have to give?” rather than questions like “what gifts has God given me?”; “how does their use reflect my love for Him?”; and “what is God’s will for me?” When we move away from focusing on certain amounts of time or money to prayerful discernment of God’s will, then we can truly bear much fruit in this parish. But, these questions are not only significant to the life of our parish. As our Gospel teaches us today, they are significant for our eternal salvation as well.

Our readings provide many examples of the proper way to approach stewardship. In Proverbs the virtues of a “woman who fears the Lord” are extolled. She is one who is reverent, religious, and faithful, and works hard for God, her husband, and her family. I know many of the ladies of this parish to already be this type of woman. But I encourage all of the ladies of this parish to look at our first reading closely, pray with it, and hold up this woman of Proverbs as your example. While the text we have been given reads “Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize”, a better translation would be that he, because of this trust, “will have no lack of gain”. Her work and her service are always productive and fruitful, not just for him, but for God and her community too. She has prayerfully discerned God’s call for her life and has lived it joyfully and abundantly. Of her our psalm exclaims, “Blessed are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways!”

Our Gospel, on the other hand, offers us, ultimately, a strong example of what NOT to do in regards to stewardship and it issues us a bold challenge. It forces us to take a good hard look at our lives. Sometimes we fail to answer the call to authentic, Christian stewardship. The temptation to be slothful, like the third servant, can be hard to resist. Now, our Gospel uses the word “lazy”, not “slothful” but sloth is definitely the sin described here. And as you all know, it is one of the traditional seven deadly sins. The woman in Proverbs was everything but slothful. What then is this deadly sin of sloth?

In general it means being disinclined toward labor or exertion; not physical labor, but spiritual labor. St. Thomas Aquinas calls it “sadness in the face of some spiritual good which one has to achieve” (ST II-II:35). One theologian, Fr. Rickaby, describes it as the “don’t-care feeling.” We can all go through bouts of this from time to time:

A man apprehends the practice of virtue to be beset with difficulties and chafes under the restraints imposed by the service of God. The narrow way stretches wearily before him and his soul grows sluggish… at the thought of the painful life journey. The idea of right living inspires not joy but disgust, because of its laboriousness.

“In other words,” he says, “a man is then formally distressed at the prospect of what he must do for God to bring about or keep intact his friendship with God. In this sense sloth is directly opposed to charity.” He violates, therefore, expressly the first and the greatest of the commandments: "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30).

There is no time to be slothful in our spiritual lives. I tell myself this as well. That said, I have been greatly encouraged by so many of you who obviously have discerned God’s will and work hard with the gifts he has given you: Like those of you who do so many good things that no one sees; those of you who prepare the sacristy, who serve Mass, distribute Holy Communion, and help out with our music; those of you who put so much work into parish events; who participate in parish council and other groups; who perform the daily tasks of upkeep of the parish; and who are involved in religious education and other ministries. All of you serve with such joy and dedication that it gives me much hope for my own ministry.

But, still there remains much more to do be done; not regarding mere dollar amounts or hours spent, like I said before, but regarding prayerful discernment of God’s will for the gifts he has given us. He is always calling us to follow him down the narrow way, to do good, to grow in virtue. The motto of the Benedictines is “Ora et Labora”, prayer and work. We must do both, now, for St. Paul in our second reading reminds us, just like the Parable of the Ten Maidens last weekend, that our Lord will come again suddenly and unexpectedly, he says, “like a thief at night.” “Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober” so that we will be prepared to give an account of our talents.

This word “talent,” interestingly enough, entered the English language directly from the parable in today’s Gospel. Here, a “talent” is a large sum of money roughly equal, at that time, to 100 pounds of silver or 15 to 20 years’ wages of a laborer. The master entrusted a different number of talents to each of his three servants according to their ability and expected them to make a profit for him. The first and second servants doubled what was given to them and both received the same reward: “great responsibilities” and a share in the master’s joyful banquet. But the third servant out of fear and laziness squandered what was given to him so his talent was given to the first servant and he was thrown out of the master’s presence and separated from him.

This parable, like the others, has a deeply spiritual significance. We are the servants. The talents are the qualities God has bestowed on us, both those we are born with, like intellectual capacity and musical ability or those we receive as supernatural graces, like personal holiness or spiritual insight. The journey of the master, during which the servants where to invest their talents, signifies the duration of our life. His unexpected return signifies our death and his settling of accounts is our judgment. Finally the master’s joy, the banquet, is heaven.

Now is a good time to examine our approach to the gifts we have received from God. The Lord wants to see that his gifts have been well administered. Let us make use of the time we have to be ready. F. Suarez, a Mexican theologian explains that, after all,

When God is known well, it is not hard to love him. And when God is truly loved, it is not difficult to serve him… In fact, it even becomes a pleasure to serve him… The third servant knew his master well… [but] he did not love him. And when love is missing, serving becomes very difficult.

It doesn’t matter how many talents, natural or supernatural, we have received; what matters is discerning God’s will, loving Him and our fellow parishioners, and generously putting our talents to good use. Just as natural abilities like playing the piano become more perfect through use or become atrophied through disuse, so also graces that are used lead to an increase of grace, whereas graces that are neglected tend to be lost. We must respond to grace by making a genuine effort through our entire lives. Fr. Francis Fernandez, one of my favorite authors, illustrates this beautifully:

When life comes to an end, perhaps we may think something like a candle has gone out. But we should also see death as the time when something like a tapestry has been completed. We have watched this tapestry being made from the reverse side where the design of the artwork is blurred and the knots and twisted loops of the needlework are prominent. Our Father, God, contemplates the tapestry from the good side. He is pleased to behold a finished work that manifests a life-long effort to make good use of time.

Homily 30th Sun O.T. Year A – When Man is Loved, God is Loved

In last weekend’s readings, when our Lord taught the Pharisees and the Herodians that the People of God should be able to fulfill their civic duties and their duties to God at the same time, they marveled at his teaching and went away. Before our Gospel reading today, the Sadducees who denied the Resurrection, tried to stump Jesus, but they too “were astonished at his teaching.” Now the Pharisees will try one last time. Infuriated that he was able to silence the Sadducees, they gathered around Jesus and, putting forward their most clever scribe, they asked him, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” By calling him “Teacher” they pretended to be humble and respectful, but really, they thought they already knew it all.

With this question they again hoped to stump him. In the old Jewish Law there were 613 laws which the scribes and Pharisees rigidly imposed on God’s people. Although these 613 laws were divided into light and grave offenses – with the grave ones being punishable by death – and further divided into small and great offenses, the Pharisees followed all 613 with equal force. So when the scribe asks Jesus which one is the greatest, he is trying to test Jesus’ faithfulness to the law. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” he asked.

To this Jesus gave a two-part answer, the first part easily recognizable to any faithful Jew. It was no surprise: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.” This is a direct reference to Deut 6:5: “Hear, O Israel,” it says, “The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Faithful Jews prayed this prayer three times a day, every day.

It is the second part of our Lord’s response, though, that would have been the most surprising to his audience. Jesus continues, “The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Here, in an unprecedented way, He formally joins love of God to love of neighbor by quoting Lev 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Such a combination of texts is nowhere to be found in the writings of the rabbis down through the centuries. They did not connect love of God to love of neighbor. The prevailing Jewish attitude toward non-Jews at the time was of bitter contempt.

In this episode, Jesus again answers the question they should have asked. Earlier when they asked him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” he answered with what should be paid to Caesar and to God. Here they ask him which commandment in the law is the greatest and he gives them the greatest and the second-greatest! The reason he does this is because he understands the true spirit of the Old Law and he does not wish to separate love of God from love of our neighbor. These two commandments summarize the spirit of the entire Old Testament and of all 613 of its laws. They even summarize the 10 commandments we all know and love today.

True love of God leads us to love our neighbor. St. Thomas Aquinas said, “When man is loved, God is loved, for man is the image of God.” This is also echoed elsewhere in Scripture. The first letter of St. John tells us, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also” (1 Jn 4:20-21). But who is our brother or our neighbor?

The Jews, before and during the time of Christ, had a strict interpretation of the term “neighbor.” They had a strong national identity and a bond with each other as the chosen Sons of God, his people set-apart to bring the entire world to Him. Therefore, naturally, “neighbor” was a fellow Jew. But, just as Jesus was the first to formally join the two texts of the Old Testament together, love of God in Deuteronomy to love of neighbor in Leviticus, so was he the first to expand the notion of neighbor beyond their national identity. So who then is our neighbor? A scribe in Luke’s Gospel asked our Lord this very question and he answered with the story of the Good Samaritan.

We all know the story, right? There, a Jew is robbed, stripped, beaten, and left for dead. When the Jewish priests and Levites, who were trained in the law and thus more responsible for it, passed him by, finally a hated Samaritan stopped to help. But, he doesn’t just bandage him up and run away even though he could have because there was such hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. No, he poured water and wine on the man’s wounds, took him to an inn, cared for him, and paid for everything. In this story the Samaritan teaches us that our neighbor is everyone in need, friend or enemy. Every person is my neighbor, more particularly the one in need.

This story of the Good Samaritan also teaches what love is and how to love. Christ is the Good Samaritan, the wounded man is the human race robbed and beaten by sin and the devil, the oil and wine are the sacraments and the inn is the Church where we are cared for and where our wounds are healed. Looking at it this way, we see that love is more than how it is popularly portrayed; it is more than just a feeling. Our feelings come and go, but love is constant. It is an act of the will; to choose the good of another whether it feels good or not; to put another’s good before our own.

Imagine what it felt like to be the Samaritan. He knew the Jews hated his people and he was in their land. He probably was afraid and wanted to journey as quickly as he could. But, knowing the true spirit of the Old Law himself, and loving God first, he was moved to love his wounded neighbor despite the fact that he was a Jew. And this love had no mushy, buddy-buddy feelings to it. It was probably expensive to use his oil and wine on the man’s wounds but he did it anyway. It was probably difficult and dirty and tiring to dress up his wounds on the side of the road. It probably didn’t feel good and probably took a lot of energy to pick up the man and place him on his horse and then slowly ride him back into town despite the jeers of other priests and Levites who passed by. Then the Samaritan cared for the man all through the night and paid two days wages to ensure that he would be taken care of at the inn while he was gone. This is true love, a love centered on love of God and self-sacrifice. The Samaritan’s love for the wounded Jew was true love because it came from the overflow of his love for God first. Plus, if the Samaritan had waited to feel love before he showed it, then he may not have showed it at all. Now, certainly, when great feelings come with love then they are good and can bring much Joy. But, remember: Love is not a feeling, it is an act of the will, a choice.

How do you love God? How do you love your spouse? Your family? Your coworkers? Your friends? Your neighbor? Love God first and you will love the rest. But if you love your spouse first or your family first then your love is out of order, and that person becomes an obstacle to your love of God. When you love God first and most of all, then you will be able to love others as He does, as Christ does, with patience and sacrifice. Then you will care for what matters most: the salvation of the souls God has placed in your path. Then like Christ, you will be their Good Samaritan.

As you journey through life, go to where your family, your friends, your coworkers are and bring them to the Inn of the Church where they can be saved and refreshed by the “oil and wine” of our holy sacraments, a salvation paid for not by two days wages, but with the priceless grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, whom our psalm called our rock, our fortress, our shield, our strength. Let your love be self-sacrificial, a love of God and a love of your neighbor, and God’s law will always be a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light.

Homily 29th Sun O.T. Year A–To Caesar and to God

Over the last few Sundays, our Gospel readings have been from St. Matthew’s Gospel and, parable after parable, Jesus has been putting the Pharisees squarely in their place. And with each parable they have been increasing in anger toward Jesus. He has stumped them and caught them trapped in their wickedness and so now the Pharisees decide to try to return the favor. They “went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.”

Their plan seemed fool-proof. First, in an act of false humility, they compliment our Lord’s truthfulness and his disregard for opinion or status. Then, they ask him “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” They figured that if he said “Yes,” then they could discredit him among the Jews as one who advocated Roman rule. But, if he said “No,” then they could report him to the Romans for inciting anti-taxation sentiments. He answered not “Yes” or “No”, but this: “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” This was much more profound then the Pharisees expected: “When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away.”

What did Jesus mean by this? Because this passage could be easily misunderstood, let’s look at what Jesus is not saying. He is not saying, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” on one hand, and repay “to God what belongs to God” on the other hand. Jesus is not teaching us the separation of church and state here. The simple word “and” between the two phrases tells us that they should be read together as one. Let us be on the look out for those who would use this passage to advocate the divorce of faith from the public square. Faith and Science, Church and State, Religion and Politics are distinct, but should never be separate. Therefore we must pray that more Catholics – who are faithful to Church Teaching – will enter into the fields of science and politics.

A Catholic’s faith should inform every aspect of his life, from the home, to the bedroom, to the office, to the voting booth, to the floor of the Senate, and the Oval Office. If we only allow faith to impact the comfortable areas of our life – mass on Sunday, conversations with the pastor, religion class, etc – and not the areas of our life that challenge us, then what is the sense in having faith at all? Our Lord does not want lukewarmness, he wants a faith that is complete and alive. We can’t separate our private convictions from our public actions without diminishing both. Pope John Paul I only reigned for 33 days but still had much wisdom in this regard. He said:

In this same society there is a terrible moral and religious void. Today all seem frantically directed toward material conquests: make money, invest, surround oneself with new comforts, live the ‘good life’. Few think also of ‘doing good.’ God – who should fill our life – has, on the contrary, become a very distant star, to which people look only at certain moments. People believe they are religious because they go to church; but outside of church they want to lead the same life as many others, marked by small or big deceits, acts of injustice, sins against charity; and thus they totally lack coherence.

We must pray and work for a society in which faithful citizenship can harmoniously repay to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

But, remember, the Pharisees in our Gospel only asked Jesus about Caesar, why did he add the bit about God? I think Jesus is also teaching us here about the religious dimension of man. It is true what Aristotle taught us: “Man is by nature a political animal,” – it is natural for him to be social, to form partnerships, to form cities. But his whole being is not exhausted by his dealings with the cities, his politics. No, human beings have an immortal soul and have God’s law imprinted on their hearts. This soul, nurtured by faith, hope, and love, should inform all that a citizen does, thus making him a faithful citizen. This is why Jesus added the words, repay “to God what belongs to God”.

Obedience to civic duties is the responsibility of all who follow Christ as long as these do not conflict with our duties to God. If they do then God’s law wins out in the end. But, when they are in harmony, one’s attention to his civic duties can be a path to holiness. The Second Vatican Council taught us that:

The laity accomplish the Church’s mission in the world principally by [blending conduct and faith] which makes them the light of the world; [by uprightness in dealings which is an incentive for others] to love the true and the good and which is capable of inducing [them] at last to go to Christ and the Church; by that fraternal charity [which prepares all hearts] for the action of saving grace; [and by personal responsibility] in the development of society, which drives them on to perform their family, social, and professional duties with Christian generosity.

We must realize that our faith has much to bring to the world, to science and to politics. Faith is not an obstacle to the fullest realization of these things, but rather must serve as their guide. Science and technology, guided by faith, recognize the rights of all human beings from the moment of conception; recognize the horror of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research; and recognize that the inherent dignity of our elderly brothers and sisters is not found in the integrity of their biological systems or their functionality, but in their simply being human. Only this type of science can be truly progressive and reach its fullest potential. Science unguided by faith falls into mere ideology, a dominating, ravenous, caricature of what it was meant to be.

Politics, guided by faith, recognizes that marriage, by definition, is between one man and one woman, and this, coupled with its unbreakable bond, guarantees the health of society: it is in the state’s best interest to protect the integrity of marriage, of the family, of the upbringing of children, of Christian education, etc. A Catholic with a well-formed conscience can do much for the common good!

But, a society with politics unguided by faith is “at the mercy of aggressive elements and prey to a gradual dehumanization.” Thus we have a society in which the death of 4000 human beings to surgical abortion each day is lauded as freedom and equality; and the destruction of human embryos, tiny human beings, for unsuccessful medical treatments is advanced for political gain rather than real cures. In the Presidential election, a year away now, remember that a vote is a political act but it is also a moral act with moral implications.

In the periods of silence today, let us examine ourselves and where we stand with these principles. And I include myself. What have we done to bring our Catholic faith to bear on the common good? Are we proud of our faith in some areas, with some people, but reject it in others? Have we abused the gifts of science and technology in our own lives or damaged the larger common good through internet addiction, artificial insemination, contraception, or even abortion? Have we elevated our politics over our faith and distracted ourselves from issues concerning faith and life directly, themselves? If we have done these things, let us be assured that there is hope. This hope lies not in our vote or our candidate but in Jesus Christ. Did he not teach us: “For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his [soul]?” As Isaiah foretold twice in the first reading, Jesus Christ “is the Lord, there is no other.” Jesus is the Way when we have become lost in the political hype; the Truth when we have bought the lies of the evil one; and the Life when we have fallen to his temptations. In Jesus Christ we are secure and can exclaim with our psalm today “For great is the LORD and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods. For all the gods of the nations are things of nought, but the LORD made the heavens… The LORD is king, he governs the peoples with equity.”

The Marian Talk at the 60th Annual Living Rosary

It is a great honor for me to be able to give the Marian Talk this, the 60^th Living Rosary Presentation. I believe some clever friends from St. Athanasius had a hand in my being chosen, I’ll talk to them later! Seriously though, as this is the first “living rosary” that I have been able to attend, I hope I am able to continue the tradition established by the good speakers who have given this talk in years past. Adding to the occasion, we celebrate this year’s event at Assumption High School whose name comes from one of the most beautiful Feast days that Holy Mother Church celebrates. With our theme being Vocations and World Peace, the Blessed Mother, in her Assumption, actually speaks well to both of these.

I fondly remember an inscription on the baldachino standing over the altar at the seminary I went to, St. Mary’s, in Baltimore, MD. It is the first phrase of Mary’s canticle of praise to God - Magnificat anima mea Dominum – My soul magnifies the Lord. At every daily Mass at the seminary, going back to when I first entered seminary in August of 2005, I read that phrase and pondered its meaning. What does it mean for one’s very soul to magnify the Lord? What does it mean for all of us today who celebrate Mary in a place named for her Assumption?

The answer begins in the Old Testament with the widow Judith. In the Book of Judith we read how she was highly praised for her victory over the Assyrians on behalf of the Israelites. Due to her splendid beauty and surpassing wisdom, she was able to get close to the enemy king. She had great courage and faith in the Lord’s protection and strength. When the king was asleep she took his sword and decapitated him, much to the horror of their enemies who fled in fear and were defeated. The Israelites praised her as blessed “above all women upon the earth.” They declared that God had magnified her name on that fateful day and that her praise shall come from the mouths of men forever. Judith was considered the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of her people.

The Church Fathers saw Judith as one who prepares God’s people to turn their eyes to the woman par excellence, most resplendent in beauty, most blessed among women, whom all generations shall call blessed – the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the glory, the joy, the honor not only of Israel, but of all mankind. By her courage in saying Yes to becoming the Mother of God and by her faith and hope in God’s promises she brought about a victory much greater than one nation over another. As Judith won victory for Israel by a fatal blow to the head of the enemy king, Mary brings about the victory over Satan by bearing our Savior, Jesus Christ, who crushes the head of sin and death underfoot. The Lord God prophesied to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” But, Mary does not magnify herself by her virtues. She sings, “my soul magnifies the Lord.” What does this mean? It means that her entire life joyfully proclaims to all generations our Lord’s conclusive victory over sin and death.

Due to the fall of our first parents, sin took hold over the beginning and the end of human life. At his conception, man inherits original sin and what we call concupiscence or the tendency toward sin. And at his very end he must suffer the wages of sin which are death and the decomposition of his body. But, the Blessed Virgin Mary escaped both. She shines forth as a beacon from God’s heavenly kingdom, showing us even now, before Christ’s second coming, that he is completely victorious over sin and death. The Lord, by Mary’s Immaculate Conception, saved her from original sin before she could be sullied by it, thus showing his victory over the beginning of life. By freeing her from the snares of concupiscence, he prepared her to live a life free from actual committed sin, thus showing his victory over the course of life. And by assuming her body and soul into heaven he showed his victory over the end of life. Mary was saved completely from the dominion and the bonds of sin and death.

When Pope Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption in 1950 he defined the essence of the dogma to be thus: “The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” (Munificentissimus Deus). This is what Catholics must believe. But what does this have to do with us?

First, Mary’s Assumption is the guarantee that those who share in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, will share in his glory. By sharing in Christ’s suffering and death at the foot of the cross, she proved to us that Jesus keeps his promises: she shares in his heavenly glory. If we offer up our sufferings, great and small, to the Father and die to ourselves, our passions, and our own will, each and every day, we too will share in Christ’s glory alongside our Blessed Mother who reflects the glory of her Son every time we look to her.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary also teaches us the honor due to our father and mother. Jesus followed the fourth commandment to its ultimate degree by bringing his mother, body and soul, quickly to his side at the moment of her “death.” He crowned her queen of heaven and earth. As Mary described in her canticle of praise, “He that is mighty, hath done great things to me; … he hath exalted the humble.” Fr. Matthias Scheeben, the brilliant German theologian of the mid 1800’s, described beautifully the honor that the Son of God showed His Mother: “As He on the third day had raised from the sepulcher… so also this mother was snatched from the grave and conformed to her Son; and as He had descended to her, so she, as being closely united with that greater and more perfect tabernacle, was taken up into heaven.”

How do we honor our father and mother, especially as they approach old age or death? Do we forget them or abandon them? Do we “honor” them by squabbling over money or inheritance? Jesus Christ is calling us today to honor our father and mother as if they were his Heavenly Father and his Blessed Mother for they have been given to us to lead us to these Holy Parents.

So, again, two of the main principles we learn from Mary’s Assumption is Christ’s victory over the beginning, duration, and end of life and the honor due our father and mother. The way that Mary models Christ’s victory over life and death is itself a call and a challenge for us to model this same victory in our own lives. In our world, all too often, the forces of sin and death reign over the beginning, duration, and end of life. At its beginning, man’s life is plagued by abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and human cloning. Through its duration, man’s life is plagued by disorder and unjust war. At its end, man’s life is plagued by euthanasia and unjust uses of capitol punishment. We must follow Mary’s model of Christ’s victory rather than the allurements of Satan’s reign. Only then will true peace reign over the beginning, duration, and end of life. Christ, the Prince of Peace, is challenging us with Mary’s example to let him reign in our lives too. Her Immaculate Conception is lived out in our lives when we pray and work to eliminate abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and human cloning. Her freedom from the tendency toward sin is lived out in our lives when we pray and work to bring order to society and free it from unjust wars. Her Assumption is lived out in our lives when we pray and work to eliminate euthanasia and unjust uses of capital punishment.

Peace is a value, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church teaches, and a universal duty founded on a rational and moral order of society that has its roots in God himself, “the first source of being, the essential truth and the supreme good.” Peace is not merely an absence of war, nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies. Rather it is founded on a correct understanding of the human person and requires the establishment of an order based on justice and charity (CSDC 494). Peace is the fruit of justice… and is threatened when man is not given all that is due him as a human person, when his dignity is not respected and when civil life is not directed to the common good. Peace is also, [and primarily], the fruit of love (494). Similar to the culture of life, a “culture of peace” must reign. In a climate permeated with the harmony and respect for justice [and charity], an authentic culture of peace can grow and can even pervade the entire international community (495). Mary’s life, shining forth Christ’s victory, is of primary importance in forming a culture of peace.

The second principle we learned from Mary’s Assumption, about the honor due our father and mother lends itself to vocations in the Church, vocations which are sorely needed in order to extend Christ’s reign of peace in the hearts of man so that it can then, and only then, spread out and influence the larger community. We need strong families in which mothers and fathers are honored so that young men can then grow up into the honorable position of father and young women into the honorable position of mother. When need strong fathers so that young men will desire to in turn be fathers of many spiritual children. We need strong mothers so that young women will desire in turn to be mothers of many spiritual children, to be the spouse of Christ, to be the handmaidens of the Lord. Through strong families in general, Mary’s model of peace can reign in the hearts of our children. This peace in turn will not admit to them the many distractions in life that detract from a religious vocation. When children are raised in a spiritual and lasting culture of peace they will more readily hear the call of God to mimic Mary’s “Yes” and respond to him generously.

Now that I have been ordained a priest, I sometimes miss kneeling in the chapel at the seminary and reading that inscription over the altar each and every day – Magnificat anima mea Dominum – My soul magnifies the Lord. Oremus pro invicem – Let us pray for each other, today and during the rest of this year. If we avail ourselves of the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven and Earth, we will not magnify ourselves by our faith and works, but instead always magnify our Lord. If we trust in her intercession we will share in Christ’s suffering and death and so share in his glory. If we honor her intercession we will honor our father and mother and give them the crown that they deserve. If we trust in her model, we will allow Christ’s victory to reign over our entire lives and so serve to instill peace in our hearts which will radiate into our families, communities, and world, also giving rise to many vocations. Finally, through her intercession, we have hope that we too will be brought swiftly to the side of our Lord when we die.