Homily Easter Sunday Mass during the Day: The Light of Christ

This morning, I am so happy to be celebrating with you this Easter Sunday, the Sunday of my first Easter Triduum as a priest. Last night’s celebration of the Easter Vigil in which 19 catechumens and candidates were Baptized and brought into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, was a wonderful experience. I must say though, it really didn’t hit me until Kevin, our Music Director, and the choir sang so beautifully the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s “Messiah” right after Communion. I was so fixated on what I had to do and what was coming next that my heart had not been opened yet to the joy of this day. That Hallelujah burst it wide open!

Imagine the joy our catechumens and candidates felt! Some of them had not yet been baptized and so they descended into the Baptismal font with Fr. Chuck, were immersed three times in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, rising out of the waters filled with Divine Life. They were one with Christ in a special way. In going down into the water they died with Him as he did on Good Friday. In rising out of the font, they were raised with Him as he did today. They then were immediately confirmed, as were the candidates for Full Communion who had been baptized in other faiths. They were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit who enhanced and completed the graces they received in Baptism. Finally, they received their first Holy Communion, in which Christ fed them with his glorified Body and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine. What a miraculous night! In one continuous celebration, they died and rose with Christ; were washed of their sins; their souls were infused with Faith, Hope, and Love; they were made sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ, and co-heirs with him of the riches of heaven; they were made members of the Church, soldiers for Christ, and now share fully in Holy Communion! Little Sabrina Bergman, one of the girls who was baptized, was already a bundle of joy, wait until you see her now, filled with so many powerful graces!

The power of this day reaches all of our hearts wherever and whoever we are… just as it reached the hearts of St. Mary Magdaline and the women; and the hearts of St. Peter and St. John, causing them to run to the tomb in search of Jesus. Even Catholics who rarely attend Mass, find their way back to this Easter day. Each one of us, from the daily Mass-goer, to the Christmas-and-Easter Catholic, have carried some darkness that Christ today wants to illuminate with his glorious Light. Today, darkness is no more; it yields to and is conquered by, the Risen Son. No matter what type of darkness we carry, Christ today conquers it with his healing light: whether it be darkness of mind in not knowing our faith very well, darkness of heart in not caring much about it, darkness in memory of an offense that has kept us away, or the darkness of a tragedy in the family or of frustration with ourselves – no matter the darkness, the healing Light of Christ shines on it today.

Have you all ever been to Mammoth Cave in south central Kentucky? I remember going on a field trip there in high school. One of the schticks they do is to lead a group of people into the heart of the cave and then turn out all the lights. Then the tour guide asks the group to put their hands in front of their faces and try to see them. It’s no use, he says. In a dark room or a dark house, our eyes will eventually pick up on some small source of light like the moonlight or a lamp in the distance. But in the heart of that cave, there is no light to get used too. Our eyes will never adjust, he says, not matter how long we sit there. At that moment it begins to get very uncomfortable. Perfect Dark. The moment you can start to feel the tension in the cave, the tour guide slowly turns the lights back on much to everyone’s great relief. We got a sense of this last night, when all of the lights of the Church were off, representing the individual and collective darkness that mankind suffers without the Light of Christ. Soon though the Easter Candle, lit from the Easter fire, showed us the way.

The temptation for each of us is to just get used to the darkness rather than let the Light of Christ illuminate it. We become acclimated to bumping around in the night – it becomes our new normal. And I’m speaking for all of us here today, myself included. We get used to the same bad habit, guilty pleasure, personality quirk, or weakness and we forget that the Light of Christ is much stronger than that thing we try to give up every year for Lent. We forget that the Light of Christ has actually already won. We tend to think of ourselves as downtrodden and hoping for victory, rather than victories and hoping to maintain the victory. It’s like being in Mammoth Cave, holding my hand in front of my face trying to see it in the dark, and then using it to cover my eyes once the tour guide turns the lights on. Or it’s like sitting outside at the Easter Vigil, when the Easter fire has burned out, rather than coming inside with the Easter Candle and all the lights.

Don’t let the devil rob you of your joy. Again, everyone from the daily Mass-goer to the Christmas-and-Easter Catholic has something holding them back. Today, no matter what it is, let Christ’s Light heal and conquer it. Today is a day of joy and gladness – a joy and gladness that lasts for 50 days, and God-willing well beyond – as Christ works in our hearts with His grace, getting us more used to him than to the darkness, making new, or deepened, faithfulness to Him and to His Church our new normal. Today he leads us and he not only turns on the light, but walks us out of the cave, and he not only keeps the Easter fire burning, but leads us into the Church and into the center of the divine life of the Trinity. In the great movie, The Mission, Mendoza, a slave hunter on the cusp of conversion, says to the Spanish Jesuit, Fr. Gabriel: “For me there is no redemption, no penance great enough.” Fr. Gabriel replies, “There is. But do you dare to try it?” That is our Lord’s challenge to you and me: Do we dare try to let His Light, His Joy, His Redemption transform our lives?

Homily Good Friday – Christ, Still King on the Cross

About three years ago, I went on a retreat with a group from St. Athanasius before my third year of theology and I saw a crucifix I think I will never forget. Our retreat was to the EWTN Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL. When we arrived at the grounds of the Shrine and monastery, the first thing we saw was a large castle, complete with all the architectural elements and furniture of a real castle.

The reason they have such a castle, practically, is so that the constant stream of pilgrims to their Shrine will have a place to congregate, eat, visit the gift shop, or listen to retreat directors without disturbing the quiet of the square outside that is between the castle and the Shrine Church. But, spiritually, this castle is a very real reminder of the spiritual warfare that is waged all around us and the necessity for all of us to engage this battle with courage and resolve. And a castle always reminds us that we have a king, Jesus Christ, who has fought and won the battle against sin and death.

As we passed through the castle and crossed the square toward the Church we noticed two long colonnades on either side, one containing the Stations of the Cross and the other the crucifix that I so vividly remember. It was life-sized and commissioned by an artist to reflect the wounds which are shown in the Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth in which Jesus was wrapped when he was laid in the tomb. Literally every inch of his body was slashed or wounded. The sight of it almost made me recoil, it was hard to look at. But I think this has been the common reaction of all mankind since that first, dark, Good Friday afternoon. Indeed, as Isaiah the prophet foretold, “Many were amazed at him – so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals – so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless … He was… One of those from whom men hide their faces” (Isaiah 52:14-15; 53:3).

Crucifixion was the most painful and degrading punishment that the Roman empire employed, so horrible that Romans were exempt from it – it was reserved for the worst criminals of the lands they occupied. The words of the great Roman orator, Cicero, show how infamous a punishment it was: “That a Roman citizen should be bound is an abuse,” he said, “that he be lashed is a crime; that he be put to death is virtually [as to kill one’s closest relative]; what, then, shall I say, if he be hung on a cross? There is no word fit to describe a deed so horrible.”[1]

How then does the castle hold true? Is this the king we were all prepared to meet? He is king, and upon the cross, especially so. But we need not be afraid, for He is unlike any king we have ever known. Isaiah, again, foretold “Because of his affliction he shall see… his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked” (Is 53:11, 12). And the author of the Letter to the Hebrews proclaimed “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us… confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Heb 4:14, 16).

“To men Christ’s kingship may seem paradoxical: he dies, yet he lives forever; he is defeated and crucified, yet he is victorious”[2]. But, throughout His Passion and Death that we contemplate today, Christ’s Kingship is maintained. Our account from John’s Gospel in particular emphasizes

“that Jesus freely accepted his death (Jn 14:31) and freely allowed himself to be arrested (18:4, 11). The Gospel shows our Lord’s superiority over his judges (18:20-21) and accusers (19:8, 12); and his majestic serenity in the face of pain, which makes one more aware of [Jesus’ triumph] than of his actual sufferings.”[3]

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 because He did not come to exercise earthly power. He wanted a spiritual reign, to rule over hearts. To prove it, he made his cross his last earthly throne: 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 kingship mean for us? The Catholic Church is the budding forth of his kingdom on earth (Lumen gentium 5). Each one of us is called to participate in this kingdom and expand it through our good works. The Lord should be the king of our families, and he should reign among our friends, neighbors and colleagues at work.[4] But his reign starts with each of us. Does he reign in our minds with firm belief in truth and doctrine? Does he reign in our will with obedience to the will of God? Does he reign in our hearts with love for God above all things? The good thief, at his bitter end, looking at Christ on the cross, recognized his kingship, placed his trust in him and received the promise of heaven: “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.” (Lk 23:42). We faithful Christians do not wait till our bitter end; we make this same appeal tonight as we embrace and kiss the cross, on which hung the salvation of the world.

---

[1] Navarre Commentary, St. John, 186.
[2] Ibid., 181
[3] Ibid., 173-174
[4] In Conversation with God, Vol. 5, “Christ the King”, by Fr. Francis Fernandez

Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb

Vatican City, 3 April 2012 (VIS) - Beginning in the second week of May when many countries around the world celebrate Mother's Day, the text of the "Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb", having received the approval of the Holy See, will be made available in parishes throughout the United States. The announcement was made recently in a note issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops informing the faithful that the the text - printed in both English and Spanish - has received the "recognitio" of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the episcopal conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has explained that the blessing was prepared to "support parents awaiting the birth of their child, to encourage parish prayers for and recognition of the precious gift of the child in the womb, and to foster respect for human life within society". The blessing may be imparted either during the liturgy or outside of Mass and the text will eventually be included in the Book of Blessings, after it has been revised.

The blessing of unborn children was promoted by Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville. When bishop of Knoxville he had asked the Committee on Pro-Life Activities to see whether a blessing existed for a child in the womb. When none was found, the committee began preparing a text which was presented to the Divine Worship Committee in March 2008. In November of the same year the full body of bishops approved the prayer and it was sent to the Holy See for the "recognitio".

Homily Palm Sunday – A Deeper Faith

Today marks the beginning of a rapid succession of external rituals in the life of a Catholic. We are reminded of Ash Wednesday when we received the blessed ashes on our foreheads. Today we receive palm branches and we fold them into neat little crosses. On Holy Thursday we have the foot-washing. On Good Friday we kneel and kiss the Cross. And Saturday night, the Easter Vigil, is filled with incense, chants, exclamations, water, oil, and light. All of these, even the deadening silence and emptiness of the altar on Good Friday, are rich experiences that flood our senses.

It somehow makes sense that we show up in such larger numbers to these liturgies than to the common Sunday obligation. Our Lord made us to be sensing beings and uses our senses to relate himself to us. But what will we do when Easter is over and the rest of the liturgical year marches on? What will we do when all the sensational things give way to the sobriety and noble simplicity that most often marks the Holy Mass?

Let us begin today, Palm Sunday, and continually until Easter Sunday, to re-examine our Faith. We must not forget that all of the external rituals of our faith are not ends in and of themselves. We have them to remind us of the deeper spiritual realities that they signify. Religious sentiment and feeling are good and appropriate in response to these beautiful things for they often serve as invitations to more fully enter into our faith. But our experiences of these things must not stop at the level of feelings, for feelings come and go. We must consider the underlying spiritual effect that is taking place. Deep down what we are really longing for is something greater than ourselves. We are longing to know the Lord, to shout to him “Abba, Father!”(Mk 14:36); “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord… Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk 11:9-10)

We proclaim the same thing today that the Jews did centuries ago. The Jews of Jesus time, though, were only caught up with the spectacle of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem; they had not let Him enter into their hearts. Up to this point Jesus had been telling those he cured to remain silent. He had also been disappearing when the people would rise up to make him king. They wanted a Messiah who would rule with military might and free them from Roman occupation. But our Lord wanted to teach them that his kingdom is of heaven, not of earth, and he wishes to reign in hearts, not palaces.

This day, though, is different. He allows them to proclaim him as king to teach us to look for kingship not in one who is dominating and ambitious but in One who is humble and obedient. Therefore our Lord – who in his Divinity deserved to ride into Jerusalem upon a golden throne, with a team of chariots, on a path of fine tapestries and gold – rides instead on the poor throne of a donkey along a path of cloaks and palm braches. This he did to the shouts of “many people” (Mk 11:8), a “great crowd” (Jn 12:12): “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel” (Jn 12:13). But, then, only a few days later, this same group of Jews, riled up by the high priests, turns this acclamation into a death sentence, into a trumped-up charge of blasphemy (Navarre Bible, Mk 11:1-11). Pilate said to them, “what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted, “Crucify him” (Mk 15:12-13).

It’s easy to shout with praise and acclamation to Jesus when everyone around us is shouting too. But when the leaders of our society disperse enough ill will, are we quick to condemn him? Do I preach Christ, and Him Crucified only when I am surrounded by attentive parishioners or brother priests? When I’m out with friends or on the annual family camping trip do I praise him still or am I tempted to speak otherwise?

How can we live differently today? You and I have to make sure that our faith doesn’t stop at the externals. If we live our lives no deeper than the surface level, then we are easily swayed by those who have the loudest voice. But when we allow the external signs of our faith to take us deeper then we come to know the truth of our faith and come to know Christ for who He really is. If we allow the grace of his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, signified by so many beautiful rituals over these coming days – when we allow that grace to penetrate deeply into our hearts, deeper than our surface feelings, then Christ can begin to mold and transform us into Catholics who are always faithful, always at His right hand, even if we are the only ones standing up for Him, even when there is “darkness… over the whole land” (Mk 15:33).

Letter from Archbishop Kurtz on Informed Consent

ACTION ALERT

Please forward to your email groups and school communities.

March 28, 2012

Dear Pastoral Leader:

I am writing to ask that you take immediate action on a very important bill that has been amended in the state Senate and returned to the House for concurrence. House Bill 274 now contains the language of SB 102, an informed consent bill that the Catholic Conference of Kentucky has supported for many years.

Informed consent requires abortion providers to ensure that patients are fully informed about this procedure in a face-to-face meeting, as done for other surgical procedures. The current practice of using a recorded phone message is inadequate and does not allow the patient to ask questions about the procedure or about how the surgery might affect her based on her personal health history. There is evidence that a percentage of women who seek abortions, but who are fully informed, change their minds and bring the baby to term. For that reason I urge you to call House leaders as soon as possible.

PLEASE CALL 1-800-372-7181 as soon as you can and leave the following message for the five House Democratic leaders (i.e. Representatives Stumbo, Adkins, Clark, Thompson, and Damron):  

The Senate has returned HB 274 to you for concurrence after amending it with language that clarifies Kentucky's informed consent law. This language makes it clear that there is to be a face-to-face in-person meeting with a health care professional prior to an abortion. Please honor your pledge to my Bishop to get a bill like this to the House floor for a vote. Now is the time. Thank you!

Thank you so much for your time and your willingness to be a true faithful citizen in making this important call.

                                                                                                Sincerely yours in our Lord,

                                                                                                Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz

                                                                                                Archbishop of Louisville

Homily 5th Sun Lent Year B (3rd Scrutiny, Year A)–Raising of Lazarus

In the summer of 2008, I had one of the most difficult experiences of my entire formation to be a priest; I participated in a program at U of L Hospital called C.P.E. – Clinical Pastoral Education. This is an ecumenical program in which I worked as a hospital chaplain while learning how to be a more effective minister. Each of us in the group of different faiths, genders, and ages were assigned to visit the patients in a particular department of the hospital. We would then gather as a group to discuss and study our experiences.

My department was particularly difficult: Palliative Care – which is the care that one receives in order to manage pain or to aid in making end of life decisions. Most of the patients I visited were dying or near death, but I felt like it was a great honor to be with these patients in their greatest need. Perhaps what I appreciate the most, though, are the times I spent with patients who, while they were dying of a terrible cancer or intense pain, were comforting and praying for me, consoling me, and reassuring me. Shouldn’t I be taking care of them? What was it about these particular patients that enabled them to be so other-centered, so charitable, so loving, so peaceful? I saw a wide range of reactions to death that summer. I myself had a wide range of reactions! The Gospel from today’s Mass, of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, has helped me to understand better what I experienced during that summer almost four years ago.

In today’s Gospel reading and in many other places in Scripture, we can see that wherever Christ is present at significant events, he sanctifies the situation. One of the reasons we celebrate Matrimony as one of the Church’s seven sacraments is because Christ was present at the Wedding Feast of Cana, thus making it holy, grace-filled, and a sign of his love. One of the reasons we celebrate Baptism as a sacrament is because Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized by John even though he was without sin, thus making the waters of Baptism holy and able to wash away sins and give divine life.

And so today, on this 5^th Sunday of Lent, Jesus enters into our lives too, particularly our experiences of suffering and death, making them holy too, making them a mystery, and taking away the crude and narrow finality that we too often give them and replacing it with his presence. Even death, even times of great suffering, when Christ enters into them, can become times of his healing and divine life. What was a time of grief and confusion for Mary, Martha, and their friends and family, became an occasion of faith, hope, and love.

Because Jesus Christ was fully human, we can feel comfortable inviting him into any place, any circumstance, any struggle, any memory whatsoever. He was once like us, completely human, in every way except for our sinfulness. That humanity he still has in heaven, but in a glorified state, no longer affected by the limitations he once felt alongside us. He did feel them. He felt the full range of human emotion. The Gospel mentions that he wept in sympathy for Mary and Martha and for what Lazarus had to endure. He understands our lives and what we are going through. At the same time though He is fully God and so wherever he goes, wherever we welcome him, he brings the fullness of divinity and all that God has to offer.

To places of pain and suffering he brings new purpose, meaning, and value; he brings the Resurrection. He is the Resurrection. To places of happiness and success he brings a glimpse and a foretaste of eternal happiness with him in everlasting life. He is everlasting life. He wants to be for us, right here and now, Resurrection and Life. He wants to show us too, like he showed Martha and Mary, that death is not the end; it is simply the step, God-willing, to eternal life. He wants to give us a share in eternal life which grace brings to the soul even while we still live on earth. Mary and Martha have shown us how to enter into this type of relationship with Jesus Christ. “They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’” As Catholic Christians, I think we would do well to have these words always on the tip of our tongue in prayer: “Lord, come and see.”

To the students here: Whenever you get a good grade on a test, pray to him, “Lord, come and see” and he will share that joy with you and help you to know he is proud of you whenever you use the gifts he has given you well. What else can we invite the Lord to come and see today? What is it for you? Perhaps it is a childhood trauma that has affected you for years. Perhaps it is a relative or a friend who has driven you to your wit’s end. Perhaps it is a physical or psychological illness or the struggles of someone in your family.

Mary and Martha have taught us what power can come from the simple prayer of invitation, “Lord, come and see.” They have also taught us that when we run to the Lord without delay, with patience and humility, and without presumption, even though he may seem to delay he actually desires to exceed our expectations. He is not content to simply restore us to level zero. He wants to do that and so much more! He wants to restore us and then increase us! This may be hard to believe when the Lord doesn’t respond to our invitation when we want him to. If Jesus had come to Lazarus in two days rather than four then Lazarus could have been cured and would not have died. But, Jesus knew that raising Lazarus from death to life would have a more profound effect on his disciples’ faith than simply raising him from sickness to health.

“So then Jesus said to them clearly, ‘Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe.’” Despite this though, when Martha came to Jesus she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” not in order to complain to him or to ridicule him but because she actually believed that to be true. Her faith was so deep that she didn’t even ask him to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. She abandoned herself to him, trusting that if he willed it he would do it. Jesus, moved by her faith and the sympathy he felt, did indeed raise Lazarus from the dead. He could have left it at that! But he also asked his disciples to unbind Lazarus after he had risen. Then he had a meal with Lazarus and his family!

One of the most profound ways Jesus is present to us, giving us peace and strength, is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Augustine saw the episode with Lazarus as an image of this sacrament. Whenever we sin, our spiritual lives can begin to die and we find ourselves in our own tomb of despair or isolation. The call to reconciliation that this Lenten season brings is like Jesus crying out to each one of us, “Lazarus, come out.” Through the words of absolution our sins are forgiven, we are given new life and emerge from the tomb. Then Jesus instructs the priest in the confessional, like he instructed the friends of Lazarus: “Untie him, and let him go.” We are released from the sins that bind us and are restored to full fellowship and communion with God and with the Church, our spiritual family.

All of this is offered to each one of us, individually, personally, during the remainder of this Lent and beyond. The prayer to the Lord to “come and see” and his call that we be unbound and “let go” – these are how a dying cancer patient can have more peace and strength than those sent to minister to her. When the Lord is present and we are set free, our happiness can be transformed from happiness that fades away to happiness the brings a taste of eternal life. And suffering and death are transformed from a meaningless pain or a senseless end, to experiences that give faith to others by the sheer power of what God can do in the heart of one who believes. He gives us the hope that with death life is changed, not ended.

Homily 4th Sun Lent Year B (2nd Scrutiny, Year A) - Man Born Blind

A couple of weeks ago, while many of the priests of the Archdiocese were on their annual retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani, I was on a retreat at St. Meinrad for recently ordained priests called, “Settling into Priesthood.” It was good to spend the week with young priests from the area, praying together, and sharing stories, experiences, thoughts, and feelings. There were also several speakers who addressed different topics in order to make sure we were starting off on the right foot.

At one point we were talking about which areas of ministry exceeded or came below our expectations and which areas still excited us or had become routine. One of the guys who had studied at the North American College, the American seminary in Rome, told an interesting story that stuck with me. He said that after studying in Rome for six years, he actually got to the point where he could walk past St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Church in Western Christendom, and not give it one glance. His eyes were not open to the beauty of faith, they were only open to the cobblestone at his feet, to his next destination, to the next task to accomplish. For this reason it was always a blessing, he said, to be able to lead a tour through St. Peter’s for some pilgrims seeing the Basilica for the first time. Seeing their eyes, physically and spiritually, open wide with awe and wonder at the grandeur of St. Peter’s always opened his eyes in a new and fresh way to allow him to see again the tremendous blessing it is for him to live, move, and have his being in Jesus Christ in the Eternal City.

Today the Church invites us to have this type of experience ourselves as we celebrate the Second of a three-part ritual called “The Scrutinies” with our catechumens. As they move closer and closer to Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion, and to continued study and reflection, they are called “The Elect” and move through the phase of Purification and Enlightenment.

This is a period of more intense spiritual preparation, consisting more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction, and is intended to purify the minds and hearts of the elect as they search their own consciences and do penance. This period is intended as well to enlighten the minds and hearts of the elect with a deeper knowledge of Christ the Savior. The celebration of certain rituals, particularly the scrutinies, brings about this process of purification and enlightenment and extends it over the course of the entire Lenten season (RCIA 139). They are beginning to get excited as the joys of Easter draw near. We rejoice with them on this 4^th Sunday of Lent and we wear Rose vestments instead of Violet to give witness to the fact that the joys of Easter are indeed close at hand.

But how often have you and I been like that seminarian studying in Rome? Our eyes become closed and the great mysteries of our faith no longer impress on us wonder and awe, they become commonplace. Especially if we have been raised Catholic since infancy, we can easily let our eyes close to the grandeur of our faith so that it no longer impresses us. Today, let us look again through the eyes of The Elect and of the Candidates who will be received into full communion with the Church. Today, look at the many aspects of our faith through the eyes of someone who has never seen them before. Look at the holy water at the front of the Church and see your Baptism all over again. Remember the joy of your children’s Baptism! That water is a sacramental, it gives grace! Look at the statue of Mary at the entrance, at the Infant of Prague in the cry room, at the depiction of the Holy Family here in the sanctuary. We are surrounded by the Communion of Saints! Look at the red candle by the tabernacle, Christ is truly present among us! Look especially at the Host and the Chalice when they are elevated at the Consecration – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. These are things that our eyes should never become closed to.

After this homily we will celebrate the Second Scrutiny with the elect, but this is something that we can all benefit from. The scrutinies, solemn rituals reinforced by minor exorcisms, are rituals for self-searching and repentance and have above all a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect – may our hearts be healed too. The scrutinies bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good in the elect – may these be strengthened in us too. The scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. The rituals, therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God above all. God-willing, we too will be delivered from sin, protected, and strengthened for our own ongoing conversion (RCIA 141).

Their spirit is also filled with Christ the Redeemer, who is the living water – seen in last Sunday’s gospel of the Samaritan woman; the light of the world – seen in today’s gospel of the man born blind; and the resurrection and the life – seen in next Sunday’s gospel of Lazarus. From the first to the third scrutiny the elect – along with us – should progress in their perception of sin and their desire for salvation (RCIA 143).

The man born blind, in our Gospel today, had a heart that was open to God. Why else did he go, without hesitation, to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam at the command of our Lord? Why else did he perceive that the water that flowed every day into that pool since the 8^th c. BC would on this day be any different? Even Tobit whose eyesight was temporarily lost and later restored was not blind from birth. It was unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. Yet he did go and was healed. But the eyes of the Pharisees were closed to God and could not see the evidence before them (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Jn 9:32).

Our Lord enlivened the water and made it life-giving for the blind man. There is no reason this cannot happen for all of us too, in a deeply spiritual but no less real way. The gospel relates that the pool was of Siloam which means “Sent.” We have our own Pool of Siloam, our Baptismal font. Jesus Christ is the One Sent by the Father. He is the source of life-giving water. The eyes of the man born blind were anointed with clay. The elect will be anointed at their Baptism and Confirmation with the Oil of Catechumens and of Sacred Chrism. The man born blind washed in the pool and was given the gift of faith. They too will be washed in Baptism and infused with Faith, Hope, and Love. Just as Jesus became the light of the man born blind, so too our catechumens will be enlightened with grace and truth. When we gather at the Easter Vigil to behold these sacred mysteries, when we dip our fingers in the Holy Water and sign ourselves every Sunday after that, let us never fail to let these mysteries be relived in us and continually seen with the eyes of faith.

Homily 3rd Sun Lent Year B–The Body of Christ and the Dwelling Place of God

Jesus does not come to destroy the temple, but to fulfill it - to reveal its true purpose in God’s saving plan.

He is the Lord the prophets said would come - to purify the temple, banish the merchants, and make it a house of prayer for all peoples.

The God who made the heavens and the earth, who brought Israel out of slavery, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands.

Nor does He need offerings of oxen, sheep, or doves.

Notice in today’s First Reading that God did not originally command animal sacrifices - only that Israel heed His commandments.

His law was a gift of divine wisdom, as we sing in today’s Psalm. It was a law of love, perfectly expressed in Christ’s self-offering on the cross.

This is the “sign” Jesus offers in the Gospel today - the sign that caused Jewish leaders to stumble, as Paul tells us in the Epistle.

Jesus’ body - destroyed on the cross and raised up three days later - is the new and true sanctuary. From the temple of His body, rivers of living water flow, the Spirit of grace that makes each of us a temple, and together builds us into a dwelling place of God.

In the Eucharist we participate in His offering of His body and blood. This is the worship in Spirit and in truth that the Father desires.

We are to offer praise as our sacrifice. This means imitating Christ - offering our bodies - all our intentions and actions in every circumstance, for the love of God and the love of others.

Notes from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Letter to the Editor, The Record, Mar 15, 2012: Jesus the New Adam in the Mass

To The Editor:

In the Jan 12 edition of The Record, I was disappointed to read the response given in the “Question Corner” to the concern about inconsistent inclusiveness in the Gloria and the Creed at Mass.

We say in the Gloria, “Peace to people of good will,” yet we say in the Creed, “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.”  I would like to comment on the decisions made by the translators.

In the Gloria, “people” is the well-known and close translation of the inclusive, Latin word, hominibus, as the 2001 document on translation, Liturgiam Authenticam, recommends (see no. 56).

In the Creed, homines, also an inclusive word, is translated “men,” reminiscent of the once-common and inclusive term, “mankind.”  Because few use “men” inclusively anymore, Father Doyle says that the translators should have “bowed to that reality and used the generic phrasing,” like “people,” for example.

Liturgiam Authenticam cautions, though, that the liturgical texts “should be free of an overly servile adherence to prevailing modes of expression,” thus freeing the liturgy “from the necessity of frequent revisions when modes of expression may have passed out of popular usage” (no. 27).

The use of “man” in the Creed recalls important theological and anthropological correlations between Jesus and Adam, the first man, whose original sin and the resulting tendency toward sin is passed on to all of the “sons of man.”

Jesus Christ, the New Man, the Son of Man, “came down from heaven” in order to save us from sin and draw all of us, men and women, into a participation in his own sonship in the life of the Trinity.

Father Doyle, in order to be more inclusive, excludes these important correlations when he recommends saying, “for us – (pause) – and for our salvation” at Mass.  I do not think this is a valid choice.

With the above reasons, let us remember the caution from Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium: “No other person [than the bishop(s)], not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority” (para. 22).  This is because the Mass is not our creation; it is a gift from God and his work.

Father Matthew Hardesty
Elizabethtown, KY

Homily 2nd Sun Lent Year B–Mountain-Top Experiences

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in a program called Engaged Encounter at Mt. St. Francis in southern Indiana.  Engaged Encounter is a weekend retreat for young engaged couples in the area to come together and focus on preparing well for a holy Catholic marriage.  I led the retreat along with one married couple in their 30’s and another in their 40’s.  We gave several talks that weekend intended to open up communication at a deep level on topics that they may not have considered.

One of the talks we gave was on how to accurately interpret highs and lows in marriage.  Some let the good times distract them from real problems that need to be addressed.  A more mature approach is to let these times built you up so that you are sustained through the rough times.  On the other hand, some let the bad times cause them to doubt the covenant they entered into rather than approaching them as opportunities for purification that can make the relationship even stronger.

Our readings today have given us three profound highs – or mountain top experiences – that we all can use to sustain us in the valleys of our own lives.  The Holy Spirit gathers us and leads us up these mountains together.

The first mountain we ascend together today is Mount Moriah from the first reading. Here we behold a scandalous episode indeed! How could God ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son?! This doesn’t seem like the God we know, the God who has said that burnt offerings from us he would refuse. Our sacrifice, he has told us, must be a contrite spirit for a humbled and contrite heart he will not spurn. And besides, Abraham’s son Isaac is the key to the covenant that God made with Abraham. God promised Abraham that he and his wife Sarah, despite their old age, would become fertile and would bear a son, Isaac. And it was through Isaac that Abraham would be the father of many nations, of peoples as numerous as the stars. These are the people of Israel, God’s chosen people, a people set apart to be an example to all mankind that God alone is our God and we are his children. From the people of Israel, our elder brothers and sisters, we have inherited this covenant and Abraham is our father in faith. For him to sacrifice his only son, his beloved son, would dissolve all of this!

Abraham was aware of what was at stake but his faith in the Lord was rock-solid. He no doubt trusted that God would find a way to keep his promise. Abraham’s only concern was fidelity to God’s command: to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, his beloved son.  So Abraham ascends the mountain with Isaac, with his only son carrying the wood for the sacrifice, and builds an altar on which to accomplish it. He then places his son on the wood and as he takes his knife to slaughter Isaac, an angel of the Lord stays Abraham’s hand. He assures Abraham that his intention, his devotion, his obedience, his willingness to do even this is as good as if he had done it. Then the Lord provides a ram, caught by its horns in the thicket, to take Isaac’s place.

But what is the Holy Spirit trying to teach us by putting before us such a chilling account? I believe it is this: that even in the midst of unthinkable sacrifice, when our circumstances in life make demands on us that seem unbearable, God is always by our side, watching and waiting to help us and to bless us abundantly. But, we must be obedient to him, trust him, and have unwavering faith in him. Unlike Abraham, we may not be called to make heroic acts of faith in God. But, like Abraham, it is not what we accomplish that matters, only that we act with a pure heart. God judges not the results of our works but the intention of our hearts. In our hearts he sees our devotion. So, for example, when we suffer injury and illness with a heart of patience and humility, he is there. When we spend long, agonizing hours at the bedside of a dying loved one with a heart of commitment and love, he is there. When we strive during Lent to uproot our vices and sins so that our hearts are open and free, he will bless us abundantly and give us not descendants but graces as numerous as the stars.

Our second reading points us to the second mountain we must climb today: Mount Calvary. Here God the Father himself, as St. Paul tells us, “did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all.” Here too we behold an Only Son, a Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, ascending a mountain of sacrifice to God, submitting to his Father’s will, carrying the wood along the Way. He too was placed on the wood, but for him the nails and the knife of the soldier’s lance were not held back. For him there was no ram caught in a thicket. He himself was the ram, suspended from the thicket of the cross, to take the place not of one, but of all mankind.

Faced with this parallel, St. Paul asks us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?” Even on Mount Calvary we are again assured of God’s constant love and help, for He was raised and not sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. We must never doubt the lengths that God has gone and will go to help and save us. No scene in our lives – not even divorce, separation, abuse, violence, sin or death – no scene is darker than the scene the only beloved Son of the Father has already entered and overcome.

Finally now, we climb our third and final mountain, Mount Tabor of our Gospel reading. Here we find Jesus with his three favorite apostles: Peter, James, and John, his inner circle. Six days before this episode, Jesus taught them that he must soon suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; be killed; and after three days rise again. Furthermore, “If any man would come after me,” Jesus said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This was unthinkable to Peter, how could the long-awaited Messiah suffer and die? Jesus rebuked Peter for thinking this way but out of his great love and generosity takes him along with James and John, on the seventh day, to Mount Tabor to strengthen them. There, he showed them and us that God never abandons us even in our deepest despair or confusion. He appeared transfigured before them, along with Elijah and Moses, and his garments were glistening and intensely white. He allowed his glory to shine forth, the glory that is rightfully his as the Divine Son of God, the glory he set aside in order to be like us. This he did in order to encourage his apostles and us to follow the difficult way that leads to our own glorification.

When our Mass is finished today we will be sent to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” We will descend the mountains of Moriah, Calvary, and Tabor and return to the valleys of our everyday lives, our schools, our homes, our workplaces. We will return to our Lenten penances and sacrifices and good works. We may even be returning to much suffering and pain. But let us not forget the mountains we have climbed today and what we witnessed at the top of each one. The God who stayed Abraham’s hand and provided for him on Mount Moriah is the same God who provides for us today. The God who loved us so much that he allowed his only Son to die on Mount Calvary on behalf of all mankind, is the same God who loves us today. The God who strengthened the apostles by allowing them to behold the glory of his Divine Son, is the same God who strengthens us today. Let us be faithful and obedient to Him with the hope that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18) at our coming Easter.

Homily 6th Sun OT Year B–Contraception, Why Not?

A couple of weeks ago, I preached about the prophetic nature of marriage, about how marriage itself preaches the good news of Christ’s love for the Church and of eternal union with God in heaven. During the announcements I read the letter from Archbishop Kurtz about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In addition to marriage being roundly attacked in our society, so too is our religious freedom. The Archbishop’s letter pointed out the troubling moral implications of religious organizations being forced to provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs – a mandate that tramples on the freedom of conscience and the teachings of the Church. Despite a recent development in the Administration’s policy, it isn’t over yet.

Last week I preached about the healing power of God’s Word and I proudly proclaimed with St. Paul to the Corinthians: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it.” I have combined that line in my heart with what Paul writes to the Corinthians today: “Avoid giving offense… not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.” These verses have inspired me not to wade out of the waters of controversy just yet. There are still difficult moral questions to be addressed before I can feel like I have adequately provided spiritual leadership to you. I was ordained a priest on May 28^th to teach, to sanctify, and to govern God’s people, not to shy away when wolves in sheep’s clothing threaten their safety.

On Friday, the Administration announced that now, rather than forcing religious employers to directly pay for insurance coverage that included contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients, it will be the insurance companies that will directly offer these free to women and will reach out to them separately to provide them.

This so-called “accommodation” is still morally troubling. What about religious employers who self-insure? EWTN, the popular Catholic network, is the largest Christian media network in the world – it self-insures. What about the conscience rights of for-profit employers? They’re being forced to deny their consciences as well. You can read the Archbishop’s latest response on archlou.org at another time. Today I want to address the big elephant in the room.

Our first reading from Leviticus explained the law concerning those in the society with leprosy. They were exiled to a shameful lot outside of the community, declared unclean for worship, made to give humiliating warnings to those who come too close. But the prophets foretold that the Messiah will one day come and we will know him by his ability to heal this terrible plague and restore lepers to the community. In the gospel a leper, out of great humility and trust in the Lord, throws himself at Jesus’ feet pleading, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

In our society today, a leprosy still plagues God’s people. It is not a “scab or pustule or blotch” on the skin though, as Leviticus describes it. It is, rather, a scab on the heart. No bodies have been quarantined, but hearts have certainly been separated. I’m talking about the leprosy of the sin of contraception. Contraception, is the big elephant in the room, the sin getting everyone’s attention but that no one wants to talk about. We’ve certainly heard a lot about it in the media’s coverage of the mandate from HHS. Every time religious objection to the mandate is reported, the media is quick to say that 99 percent of all women use contraception and 80% of Catholics are contracepting. But, they forget, that the truth isn’t determined by popular vote – the truth is true outside of the number of those who believe it.

I know there are bigger fish to fry: religious liberty, the first amendment of the Constitution, and the very framework of our nation, made up mostly by religious institutions. But the spotlight is being shined on contraception in a big way and its making Catholics sheepishly scratch their heads and say, “Oh… yeah… that’s a problem, isn’t it.” If 80% of the nation’s Catholics are contracepting, can we narrow that down to 80% of Catholics at Mass here today? Don’t worry, I don’t need a show of hands! But what kind of priest would I be if 80% of my people carried this modern leprosy on their hearts and I didn’t stretch out my own hand to them? Trust me, it’s not easy for me to stand up here and talk about a sin that won’t necessarily win me any popularity points. But I don’t want the Good Shepherd, on the day of my particular judgment, to say to me, “80% of my sheep were led astray and you did nothing to save them.”

The truth is, contraception is intrinsically immoral; it is a mortal sin, a sin that doesn’t merely wound but severs our personal integrity, our relationships with each other, and our relationship with God. It is not confessed enough.

There are many troubling effects of contraception. Studies link its widespread use since the 1960’s to increased prevalence of societal dysfunction, abortion, single parenthood, sexually transmitted diseases, unwed pregnancy, poverty, and divorce. But the Church teaches against it primarily because it violates the goods of marriage. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that marriage “is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation of offspring” (CCC, 1601).[1] Contraception thwarts God’s will and intention for marriage and the very design of the human body. It is indeed a serious sin.

The popular mindset is articulated well by the president when he speaks about contraception. He refers to “contraceptive services” and “contraceptive care” as part of “preventive services.” The healthy and natural functioning of the human body, including its reproductive function, is a great good. Indeed, precisely because the human person is of such inestimable value, the sources of the human person – the fertility of both men and women – also have great value. But, contraception divorces human sexuality from procreation and leads one to regard fertility as a disease. The ability of spouses to become cooperators with God in the creation of new human life is itself of inestimable value and not some physiological nuisance.[2]

Janet Smith, a professor at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit has a talk on CD called “Contraception, Why Not?” that has distributed over a million copies. You can find the transcript free online. She beautifully explains this issue. “Barriers are not appropriate between those who love each other,” she says. Our bodies speak a certain language. A husband and wife should say to each other, in their sexuality, “I give to you all that I am and all that I have, even my fertility. I am willing to be a parent with you.” And those are statements that promise a lifetime commitment because children help to reinforce that commitment. “Sexual intercourse is meant to express and solidify this comment to lifetime union that a couple has already made through their marriage vows. Indeed a child is a living monument to the union… Sexual acts that are open to children express more fully the lifetime commitment that marriage is.” But couples who put up a barrier between them are “saying” with their bodies “I only want from you a momentary union of pleasure.”[3] Just as the decision to marry IS a decision to be open to the miracle of children, so to the decision to have sex IS a decision to be open to the miracle of children – they are one and the same decision, not two separate ones.

Most married couples have “spoken the language” of contraception. Most used contraception before they were married. Once married, they stop it momentary to have a child and then contracept again. They may stop again to have a second child and then become sterilized. They say to each other, “your fertility is a pox on this house.” The fact that some contraceptives end up killing the embryonic human being makes this “language” all the more abusive. Now, I realize, that some women take the synthetic hormones that are in the pill to treat hormonal disorders, endometriosis, or ovarian cysts that themselves can cause infertility. In these cases, infertility is the unintended and indirect effect of a treatment and so use of the hormones is then not a sin. But, nowadays there are very few occasions in which infertility causing drugs are the single, solitary treatment for these problems.

In marriage, Natural Family Planning is the better way. Contracepting couples make themselves infertile; NFP couples work with the natural periods of infertility in a woman’s body. Contraception treats fertility as a defect; NFP treats fertility as a gift to be treasured though perhaps not always opened. Contracepting couples do not give fully of themselves in their sexuality; couples using NFP give all that they have to give during the times of infertility. Furthermore, NFP costs nothing, is as effective as birth control, enhances marriage, improves the sex life, increases intimacy, and improves communication. And couples using NFP almost never divorce, unlike 50% of the rest of the population.[4]

To the young adults here today: don’t buy the lie of contraception, don’t fall into its trap. Don’t trivialize sex now and ruin it for yourself later. For the sake of your future marriage, stay away from it. To those already married, come to the Lord in humility and trust in the sacrament of Reconciliation. He does will it, to cleanse you of this modern leprosy, so you can start again.

---

[1] Janet E. Smith and Christopher Kaczor, Life Issues, Medical Choices: Questions and Answers for Catholics, p. 78
[2] Ibid, p. 78
[3] Ibid., p. 79
[4] Ibid., p. 82

Homily 5th Sun OT Year B – The Healing Power of the Word of God

It can be tempting at times, especially given the state of our economy and other pressures, to live life according to the despair of Job rather than according to the hope of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Life. “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings?” Job asks with despair. We strive to grow in holiness only to fall to sin time and time again. We work so hard, day in and day out for money to support our families, only to have it taken from us. We raise our children the best way we can only to see them leave the faith. We exercise and eat healthy foods only to be stricken with a debilitating disease. Even our nights provide no rest. “The night drags on,” Job laments, “I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.” Surrounded by sin and death we are tempted to utter again with Job “I shall not see happiness again.” What’s the use?

If you have uttered these words before, let me tell you that there is indeed hope; that you will see happiness again, even in this life, for happiness is your destiny, the very thing for which you were created. This happiness can be found in the Word of God, Jesus Christ the Lord. And perfect happiness can be found in Eternity with Him.

Notice how our readings today bring together the trials and sufferings of life with the preaching of the Word of God. We have in the same Mass the despairing cries of Job alongside St. Paul’s zeal for preaching. And we find Our Lord “preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.” Why are suffering and preaching brought together? I think this is to remind us that the Word of God is inextricably linked to every aspect of the healing ministry of the Church, physical and spiritual, as she seeks to alleviate suffering in the world. There is much wisdom in this; we must not take it for granted.

With all of the Church’s sacraments and sacramentals of healing, both those celebrated within Mass and outside of Mass, readings from Scripture are there. In the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, readings from Scripture are there. In Visits to the Sick, Communion of the Sick, celebrations of Viaticum, and Commendation of the Dying, readings from Scripture are there. In Baptism and even in the beginning of the Sacrament of Reconciliation – when the greatest sickness of all, sin, is healed – the priest is encouraged to read some passages from Scripture. It is unfortunate that this isn’t the common practice. The Church, you see, is not a haven for the perfect and healthy; it is a hospital for sinners. Our Lord is the Divine Physician and His Word is our medicine for everlasting life. After all, the word “doctor” comes from the Latin word docere, which means “to teach.” And in our Responsorial Psalm – one of the readings or “teachings” of the Word of God – we sang, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Remembering then how necessarily linked the Word of God is with both physical and spiritual healing, we are given both a consolation and a challenge. How often, when we suffer, do we look to everything but the Word of God for happiness or relief? In a world that has no tolerance for suffering and refuses to find meaning and redemption in it, we are tempted to turn to Christ, if we turn to Him at all, only when all other avenues have been exhausted. We try all the latest medications and remedies. Or we medicate ourselves through impulsive buying or thrill-seeking or lustful passions or by being in denial. St. Paul captures beautifully in our Gospel the universal longing that is at the root of all of these: “Rising very early before dawn, [Jesus] left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’”

We seek happiness and relief from our suffering in a myriad of ways but, deep down inside, “Everyone is looking for [Jesus].” Although in the midst of our trials, our Lord may seem to be “off to a deserted place” he is always very near. Let’s not wait until we hit rock-bottom to turn to Him. When we are tempted to look to worldly things to find what only He can provide, we must remember that he truly is found in His Eternal Word, especially in the Gospel proclaimed at Mass. He really can satisfy the desires we have. This is our consolation and challenge.

Perhaps you yourself are suffering even as you sit here today. Or perhaps a friend or a relative or a coworker you know is suffering today. St. Paul challenges us with full zeal and piety: “If I preach the gospel,” he says, “this is not reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” Woe to us as well if you or I fail to preach the Good News to those who are sick in body or soul; if we fail to proclaim the truth of Christ’s redemptive suffering and his many healing miracles; if we fail to give the sick this greatest of medicines: His Word.

The power of His Word inspires us not to wait to call a priest to anoint our loved ones only at their final moment, as we used to do. No, the power of God’s Word impels us to call for the priest to preach the Good News of God’s Anointing as soon as we begin to be in danger. Why would we want to delay the giving of so precious a gift? And Why should we be afraid to see the priest when he comes? He’s not the grim reaper. He is Jesus Christ bringing the grace of strength, humility, perseverance, and healing. This is the challenge from St. Mark. He says that the apostles “immediately told [Jesus]” about Simon’s mother-in-law who lay sick with a fever. We must not hesitate to tell our Lord in prayer about our own trials or those of our relatives and friends.

We see that upon hearing their petition “[Jesus] approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” Furthermore, St. Mark continues, “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” Perhaps you, or someone you know, are looking in all the wrong places for the comfort we can only find in Jesus. Perhaps you, or someone you know, are possessed by the demons of addiction or despair. Today is the day to resolve, if you have not yet done so, to gently take them by the hand and bring them to Jesus. If you have already begun this journey, resolve to persevere for our Lord himself said he wishes to come to us, to “preach there also.” We need only to “gather at the door” of His Word.

Homily 4th Sun OT Year B – The Prophetic Nature of Marriage

One of the things I find most fascinating about the Liturgy of the Word, the readings at Mass, is the unity of these readings. If you listen closely, you can detect a thread running through them that weaves one unified message that the Holy Spirit would like to speak to us. Now, on some Sundays this unified theme is easier to detect than on others, like during the Seasons, such as Christmas. But, in Ordinary Time, the season we are in now, these themes can be a little harder to detect. I remain convinced though that on every Sunday of the year the Holy Spirit’s purposes for giving us a particular set of readings can be discerned with careful listening.

Take today’s readings for example. Our first reading, responsorial psalm, and Gospel are about prophecy, its power, and the obedience due to it. Our first reading describes the prophet God promised to His people, a prophet who will speak God’s very words and commands. The responsorial psalm invites us to start every prayer with openness to God’s voice and to not repeat the hardness of heart of our ancestors. And our Gospel presents the fulfillment of the promised prophet, our Lord Jesus Christ. We see him speak with the authority of the Father in teaching his people and in driving away demons who would seek to thwart his Voice.

So clearly we have a theme of prophecy, right? Then what do we make of our second reading from First Corinthians? St. Paul explains that an unmarried man, such as a priest or religious brother, is concerned mainly with “the things of the Lord” and “how he may please the Lord.” But a married man is also concerned with things of the world, like material resources, and his wife and family, so his heart, naturally, is divided and it is harder for him to accomplish “adherence to the Lord without distraction.”

I must admit that when I read this at first I was stumped. What does marriage have to do with prophecy? I am reminded of a lady I visited in the hospital a few summers ago as a seminarian at Bl. Teresa of Calcutta parish. I went with a lay woman from the parish who had many years of experience visiting the sick and taking Holy Communion to them. She had a remarkable way with the sick and suffering and they were always consoled and strengthened by her. Her name was Lois.

The lady that Lois and I visited was a longtime parishioner. When we entered her room we exchanged greetings and some small talk and Lois offered to bring her a bulletin so that she could stay connected to the parish. It seemed like an easy visit but before we were about to leave I could see on the lady’s face the slight impression that there was something more, something else that she needed from us. As we turned to leave she finally said, “Can I ask you a question?” She then explained to us that her husband had died only a year prior and that she was scared in the hospital without his help and companionship. But she was even more grieved by the imprudent words she had been told after her husband’s funeral. She told us that when the Mass was over she asked the priest in the sacristy if she was still married to her husband. He responded by simply quoting the twelfth chapter of Mark without any further explanation. There, verse 25 says, “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Now, in the hospital, when she needed her husband the most, these words were ringing in her ears. Having to face her illness without him in this life was hard enough, but not even being able to hope to be married to him in eternity made her feel even more alone and afraid. She began to cry.

At that moment I really believe the Holy Spirit spoke through Lois and me. This was a fairly complex question we had been given and we had no time to prepare an answer. It brought up all at once the meaning of marriage, its purpose, and its place in our salvation. This isn’t a “Who made you? – God made you” type of question! But immediately, Lois and I responded together and bounced off of each other as if we had rehearsed what we would say. Our joint reply had to have been from the Holy Spirit. We explained that, yes, it is true that Scripture indeed teaches us that we are not given in marriage in heaven. But, we continued, in heaven we will be one in Christ thus making us closer to our loved ones in heaven than we ever were on earth! Marriage is meant to prefigure the union of the Church in eternity with her sole Head and Spouse, Jesus Christ. Marriage prepares us for and points us to eternal union with Christ and once this is accomplished then its noble purpose is served. This answer seemed to give her great comfort and she was filled with peace.

In this episode I think we find the key to finding out what prophecy has to do with marriage. In Scripture, a prophet is most often defined as one who made known the will of God, who exposed and rebuked evil, and who stood for the law. He often had supernatural knowledge and inspiration.[1] How then is marriage prophetic? It is prophetic because it speaks, with all the force of being a sacrament and with the authority of God, of the love Christ has for His Church, the love that will be brought to its fulfillment at the end of time in eternity. Insofar as the Church submits herself to Christ her spouse and head, so too is a wife called to humbly submit herself to her husband. But, husbands in return are called to mimic Christ who gave his entire life for his Bride, the Church, even unto the cross.

St. Paul tells us this very thing in his letter to the Ephesians: “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:22, 25). But, let me be clear, this is not a servile or oppressive subjection; that should always be rejected. Rather, I’m speaking of Christian sacrifice and humility that take after the relationship between Christ and the Church. The Church, His Bride, does not hesitate to submit to so selfless a Bridegroom as our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is our model. Husbands and wives, by living out their marriage in this way, speak boldly and prophetically to the world of the powerful love God has for us and the love we must give him in return. In living out a lifelong, faithful, fruitful marriage, husbands and wives share the Good News of the one, indissoluble union with Christ in Heaven. This is the joyful hope that lady in the hospital found.

That’s pretty amazing isn’t it! Does your marriage share this Good News? Does it speak of Christ’s love for the Church? Does it give your family and those who see you hope in union with Christ? I must ask myself, too, if my Priesthood, my marriage to the Church as a whole reflects the self-sacrifice of Christ. This isn’t just pie-in-the-sky theology. Even though marriage is roundly attacked in today’s society and can be full of struggle and difficulty and distraction from “adherence to the Lord” as St. Paul put it, it can still be beautiful and prophetic. Actually the evil in our world serves to accentuate the beauty of marriage all the more because against evil and mockery, true Christian marriage shines all the brighter. Our marriages must reclaim their prophetic voice now more than ever so that we can tell the world that marriage is not dead, hopeless, doomed to fail, and subject to our every whim or passion, but can still accomplish its noble purpose and be a means of our salvation. Yes, a means of our salvation.

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[1] http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd06834.htm

Homily 2nd Sun OT Year B

Last week was National Vocation Awareness Week so this weekend we pray that vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life will be multiplied and renewed. We pray especially for three of our Louisville seminarians who are from this parish: Sean McKinley, Tony Cecil, and Deacon Stuart Priddy who will be ordained a priest in May. It is Providential that our readings this weekend describe the beautiful calls of Samuel in the Old Testament and our Lord’s first apostles in the New Testament. Through these beautiful accounts we can learn about God’s will for our lives as well.

One of the things that stood out to me is how these calls came about in close proximity to our Lord. This is a very important lesson to us all today. They form a sort of model for how our Lord calls us and how we should answer. In our first reading, Samuel was “sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was”. Now, I hope that none of you falls asleep this morning, but you get the idea. Samuel was near the ark of God, the ark of the Covenant, which in the Old Testament stood for God’s very Presence. And after he consulted the old high-priest Eli he learned that the call was authentic and how he should respond. Then the Lord “was with him” and directed his vocation in a powerful way such that not a word of his was “without effect.” Please pray for me that I could have a similar blessing.

In our Gospel, St. Andrew and St. John began to follow Jesus when John the Baptist prompted them as Jesus “walked by.” Jesus said to them, “Come and see” and they “stayed with him that day.” Later, Andrew’s joy from this encounter led him to find his brother Simon Peter, to share with him the good news of the Messiah, and to bring him to Jesus. Then Jesus looked Simon Peter in the eyes and named him Cephas which means “rock”, the rock on which Jesus built his Church.

Together these two accounts of Samuel and the first apostles teach us three things. First, we hear God’s call best when we are close to him. Second, often God uses others to direct us to him. And Third, we should respond with humility, openness, and promptness. When I look back on my own life and my calling to the priesthood I see that by the grace of God, this model played out with me too. Although not always like Samuel, Andrew, John, and Peter, I am humbled by how God brought me to where I am today. For most of my life, in a way I was like Samuel who, according to our reading, “was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.”… Tell Vocation Story…

For me, what began as an intellectual exercise, reading more and more about why we believe what we believe, became an experience and a way of life. By the grace of God, I fell in love with Jesus, and with His Church, and with what He teaches us through her. Our vocation in life, what God is calling us to do, can never be just a matter of intellectual curiosity; it affects one’s whole life. A person cannot understand God’s will unless he has a deep personal friendship with Christ. Therefore, in our Gospel our Lord does not tell Andrew and John in detail about his way of life; he invites them to spend the day with him. What God is can only be understood through communion with Him: words cannot fully describe it.[1] Our Lord invited everyone when he said “Come and See”. And like the disciples we must obey his command and learn by personal experience.[2] Only by living with him and knowing him can we ever really know ourselves and the vocation he intends for us.

Just as Samuel was near the ark of God, and the apostles spent time with Jesus where he “stayed”, I began to spend more and more time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament getting to know him and his will for me. Just as Samuel answered the Lord, “Speak, for your servant is listening” and just as Andrew and John “followed Jesus”, I tried to respond by praying to God that I wanted to know his will for me as much as I wanted to each lunch that day or to have a roof over my head. I prayed that God would help me to desire his will for me as much as I desired to meet my basic needs.

God used Eli to call Samuel, he used John the Baptist to prompt Andrew and John, and he used Andrew to call Peter. In a similar way, the Lord used a Protestant girl to put me on the road to the priesthood! And he used many others too, like Fr. Michael Wimsatt who was ordained a year ahead of me. His first words to me were not “Hello, my name is Mike” or “Hello, nice to meet you,” but “Have you ever thought about being a priest?” That got me thinking more about the priesthood. And God used my friends and other priests in the Archdiocese who encouraged me and gave valuable advice.

I pray that you too will grow in confidence in God’s will for your life. I hope the accounts of God’s call in our readings today will bear much fruit for you. Spend some silent time with our Lord in the tabernacle. Rest with the ark of God. Maybe you could spend 15 minutes a day in adoration or an hour per week. Live with him and allow him to change your life. Who has He placed in your life in order to bring you to Him? Who are you called to bring to him? Our responsorial psalm gives us the proper approach: “I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry… ears open to obedience you gave me… then said I, ‘Behold I come’… ‘It is prescribed for me: To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!’”

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[1] Navarre Commentary on St. John, p. 51
[2] St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on St. John

Homily Epiphany Year B

Have you ever heard a Catholic term that is familiar but one you have to really think about before you can remember what it means? Sometimes I still have to do that with the Epiphany, the Solemnity we celebrate today. I think it’s similar to the Immaculate Conception. Without thinking, you could say that the Immaculate Conception is about Jesus being conceived in the womb of our Blessed Mother. But, then when you think a minute you realize it is really about Mary being conceived without original sin in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. I think it is the same with the Epiphany; you have to think a moment about what it means.

The word “Epiphany” means “manifestation,” but if you don’t give it some thought, you could think that it refers to when Jesus showed his divinity to his closest apostles on Mt. Tabor… but, No, that’s his Transfiguration. Could it be when he performed his first public miracle by turning water into wine… No, that was the Wedding Feast at Cana. What about when God the Father announced Jesus as his Beloved Son at his Baptism in the Jordan River? No… that’s not it either! These were all manifestations but today’s celebration, the Epiphany, is about the Son of God being made known to the three wise men from the East. It can be confusing sometimes to understand what all of our feast days mean. But, there is indeed a clear message to all of us today.

First and foremost, we should know that our Gospel reading today does not merely describe a pious legend or some astronomical alignment, as some who try to rationalize the account would say. The story of the wise men from the East following a star to Bethlehem and Jesus is a narrative of fact. It was a miracle and it was real![1] The reality of the account, though fixed at a certain time in history, provides a wealth of inspiration and meaning for all mankind of all times.

Actually it is these three kings – or scientists of the stars, as they came to be known – who themselves represent all mankind. It was too these three non-Jews that Jesus, born to a faithful Jewish family, made himself known. And their journey is typical to all of those throughout history who have searched for Jesus to adore him. This is a source of great hope for us. To those of us who may not feel particularly close to Jesus – today is a new day. We can find hope in the fact that these three kings also made the journey and they have shown us how to make it.

Their journey was long, no doubt, and how do we suppose they explained it to their family and friends? I’m sure they were met with doubt and dismissal, maybe even ridicule. They had studied the stars; they knew how to follow this brightest star of them all. But it was by a special grace from God that they interpreted it as a sign of the presence of the long-awaited Messiah that they had heard about from their Hebrew neighbors. Inspired by this grace they sought him out in order to do him homage and adore him. It is just as the prophet Isaiah foretold, “Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar”.[2]

Often we too, by a special grace from God, yearn to be close to Jesus Christ and to adore him but it can sometimes seem like we are only coming “from afar.” Let us learn from the magi and be brave. Let us put the same certainty in our knowledge of heavenly things and in our faith that they did. Let us make the long journey with confidence that we will indeed find Jesus, and let us cast aside our love for approval or for material things that get in the way.

Upon finding Him, Isaiah said, “Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow.” Indeed, St. Matthew tells us, the magi “were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house [when] they saw the child with Mary his mother.” This joy is ours too. Many of you are doing well in your spiritual lives and remain close to Jesus. For you, this could be a day in which you take another step to be even closer to him or invite those who aren’t on the journey to take the first step.

When the magi finally made it to Jerusalem it seems from the tone of our Gospel reading that they got lost.

They “arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’… Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, [King Herod] inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea’” (Mt 2:1-5).[3]

Along our way to Christ we too should be docile and willing to ask others for help:

Christ has given His Church sureness in doctrine and a flow of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged things so that there will always be people [like our priests and bishops] to guide and lead us, to remind us constantly of our way… A conscientious Christian will go – with complete freedom – to the priest he knows to be a good shepherd, who can help him to look up again and see once more on high the Lord’s star.[4]

In seeking Jesus myself and in trying to be a good shepherd, I have found it helpful to seek the guidance of my priest-spiritual-director at least once a month and to receive his absolution and counsel in the Sacrament of Confession. I also find much guidance in the advice of priest-friends, in the example of our Archbishop, and in the writings and speeches of our Holy Father.

With bravery and guidance we make our way to Jesus and when we find him we discover that all of the confusion we may have started with is replaced with simplicity and clarity. St. Matthew tells us that when the magi “saw the child with Mary his mother [t]hey prostrated themselves and did him homage.” They simply humbled themselves, lying flat before him, in adoration. All of the confusion of their long journey, following the star despite difficulties, seeking and following advice, and enduring Herod’s conniving demands gave way to simple adoration of our God-Made-Man.

This adoration is so clear that the Council of Trent in 1545 referred to our Gospel reading today when it described the devotion which is due to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus present in the tabernacle is the same Jesus the wise men found in Mary’s arms. As we grow closer to Jesus, one helpful reflection could be to examine ourselves to see how we adore him when he is exposed in the monstrance or hidden in the tabernacle.[5] Do we even realize he is there, like the magi did? How can we grow in that awareness?

Many Catholics maintain their awareness by making the Sign of the Cross whenever they drive by a Catholic Church – acknowledging His Presence in the tabernacle there. Or they genuflect deliberately, with their eyes on the tabernacle, when they enter or exit their pew. Actions such as these help us to remain prostrate before the Lord, in our hearts, right beside the magi instead of remaining unaware or “from afar.”

Finally, let us not forget Mary. “The three Kings had their star [to lead them to Jesus]. We have Mary… [who was called by the early Church Fathers] Stella Maris, Stella Orientis, Star of the Sea, Star of the East.”[6]

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[1] Drum, Walter. "Magi." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09527a.htm.
[2] Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, vol. 1, 320.
[3] Ibid., 322.
[4] Ibid., 323.
[5] Ibid., 329.
[6] Ibid., 333.

Homily Mary Mother of God Year B

Below is my typing out, on the fly, of the main ideas I preached about using an outline of notes – I was too distracted by the UK – U of L game and New Years Eve to write out a full-blown text beforehand!

Happy New Year – my blessing to you for the new year is the text of the First Reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you!  The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!  The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”

This Solemnity calls forth our finest as we honor and venerate the Holy Mother of God – hence the cassock, nice alb, and First Mass chasuble.

It is because of this Solemnity that Mary has all of the other titles and graces given to her: Her Assumption, Immaculate Conception, Immaculate Heart, and Most Holy Name; her own Nativity; her appearances at Fatima, Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Mt. Carmel; her Sorrows, her Rosary, her Presentation, and Queenship; and her Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth all depend on her being the Mother of God.

Today’s mystery is one of the many great mysteries we having been, and will continue to, move in and out of.  St. Thomas called this exitus et reditus, exit and return, going out and returning in.  God is always doing this: giving his love, and receiving it from us; giving life and receiving it; giving His Son, and receiving Him who brings us with Him.  By the Holy Spirit who moved over the waters of our Baptism, we have, in a sense, been breathing these great Mysteries.  They are our life, our livelihood.  Like lungs filling up and emptying out, we have been focused IN on Jesus at Christmas; then we stepped OUT to celebrate the whole Holy Family; then we stepped IN to celebrate Mary and the shepherds today; OUT next week to celebrate the Magi from afar at the Epiphany;  and we will step back IN on March 19 to celebrate St. Joseph.  These are what we’re all about.

Paul’s verse, “God sent his Son, born of a woman,” encapsulates the whole day.  The Eternal Son of the Father, the Eternal Word, the Second Person of the Trinity, was not made like a carpenter builds a house.  He is eternally-begotten, eternally generated by the Father, he has no beginning or end.  But, when he assumed human flesh, taking the body and blood of his mother Mary at his conception, he truly became man.  From that point he is forever fully God and fully man.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  He is the son of a woman.  He is OF God and OF Mary.  The mother of Jesus is the Mother of God.  This great gift of divine Motherhood is not a gift for her alone but for us all.

Pope Benedict XVI, preaching on this feast in 2008, explained that when the Gospel says Mary “reflected on these things in her heart” – what the shepherds told her, about all Glory being due to him, that He is Savior, Christ, and Lord – the Greek behind the phrase literally means a “piecing together.”  As she raised him and watched him grow, she pieced together these great mysteries and they expanded more and more in her life.  When we turn to her and remain close to her, she pieces these together for us too, helping us to see how she is our Mother too, that Christ is our brother, and that God is our Father.

By the Holy Spirit of our Baptism we enjoy adoption as sons of the Father, sharing in the Sonship of Christ, so that we can proclaim “Abba!” - “Father!” – an intimate, personal way of addressing God.  Mary helps us to see ourselves in such an intimate relationship.  Although He is near to us… perhaps He is too tall!  Mary picks us up, as little children, and helps us to reach our Father, putting us in His arms, lifting us close to His face… like any mother would help a child reach his father.

True, Christ is our sole mediator with God.  Mary participates in this mediatorship.  She is our shortcut to the Father.  She shortens the journey to Him.  St. Bernard: “She consoles us in our distress, enlivens our faith, strengthens our hope, gets rid of our fears, and invigorates our timidity.”  She also teaches us like a mother should – parents being the primary formators in the faith of children.  She teaches us how to say Yes to God’s will, how to receive Christ deeply in our very being, how to generously give him to the world.

She also helps us with our images of the Father.  Often our images of God come from the experiences of our natural fathers.  If our natural father was harsh, she helps us to know God’s mercy.  If our natural father was absent, she helps us to know His presence.  If our natural father was distant, she brings us close to Him.  When our natural fathers do well, she helps us to see how this points to our heavenly Father.  When our natural fathers are merciful, present, and close to us she helps us to attribute these values to God.

In this new year, our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, is challenging us to say Yes to Him.  Perhaps after the homily, Communion, or Mass today you could spend some quiet time considering how it is that Mary is truly your Mother; what kind of son or daughter you have been to her; how you can allow her to be your mother; and you to be her son or daughter.  This could be a new year of a renewed relationship with Mary, your Mother.  Perhaps you could pick up a Marian devotion that has fallen away, like the rosary.  Any time we honor, venerate, or pray to Mary, she always redirects these to her Son, she never keeps them for herself.  Know that as you grow in your relationship with the Mother of God, you can be assured of growing close to her Divine Son.