Homily for Sunday November 25, 2012 (Christ the King B)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.  This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year.  Next week we will begin the season of Advent, the four weeks of anticipation and preparation for the great feast of our Lord’s birth.  We are only about five weeks from the celebration of the New Born King.

Today, however, our readings and the prayers of this Mass draw our focus to Jesus Christ who is the glorious and reigning king of the universe.  He is the one through whom the power of evil is broken and all things are made new.  Christ is the king, who as our reading from the prophet Daniel declares, receives everlasting dominion, glory and kingship.  His is a dominion that cannot be taken away and a kingship that shall never be destroyed.  It is Christ the King who is the faithful witness and the first born of the dead.  He is the one who loves us and who has freed us from our sins.  Christ is the King who has made us part of his kingdom and who will return in glory as we heard in the reading from Revelation.  We celebrate today that Christ our Lord has claimed dominion over all creation so that he might present to God our Father an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.

And yet, dear brothers and sisters, our Gospel today does not show us an image of Christ as the triumphant ruler.  We do not see him today as the judge of the nations at the end of history or as the shepherd who protects his flock.  Today we encounter the Lord Jesus before Pontius Pilate.  We see Jesus as the one who is to be scourged and crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross and buried in a borrowed tomb.  We see our King as one who suffers for and suffers with his people.  Asked by Pilate about his identity as a king and about his kingdom, the Lord Jesus responded, my kingdom does not belong to this world.  Pilate did not recognize the kingdom and the world did not recognize the kingdom, because they didn’t recognize the king.

At the time of Jesus there was great expectation about the coming of the messiah.  They sought a ruler who would restore the house of David, overthrow political systems, and with military might establish his reign.  They expected a conquering hero who would bring about his kingdom by violence, restore the greatness of the City of Jerusalem and make his power felt throughout the world.  And what they expected was not what they saw.  They sought a ruler and found a shepherd and a suffering servant.

Having preached the message of the love of God, declared the poor and the peacemakers blessed, fed the thousands upon thousands, and now before Pilate declares that he had come to testify to the truth, the Lord Jesus reveals what appears as the greatest contradiction in his kingdom.  The King reigns from a cross, and in suffering is found the redemption of the world.  As we, dear brothers and sisters, share in Christ’s kingdom, we also have a share in his suffering.

When we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into his suffering and death.  What that means is that every event of suffering in our lives, by our union with Christ, becomes our own privileged share in his sufferings.  When we encounter the suffering of illness, we know the pain of the nails in his hands and his feet.  In each and every emotional suffering, we know the experience and the isolation of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.  And we know the suffering in the Heart of Mary, as we accompany those who are dear to us on their own Way of the Cross.

Yet Christ is King of the Suffering.  He is not some far off ruler apart from his people.  He is with us and we are with him.  That is the good news of this feast day.  In the events and the difficulties, in the triumphs and the tragedies, in the sorrows and in the sufferings, the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Christ our King desires to reign in us and to accomplish his will through us.  As we now enter into the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, we present our sufferings to the Lord and we pray that his Kingdom come and his will be done, in us as it is in heaven.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for Thanksgiving Day (November 22,2012)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

When I was a child my family spent Thanksgiving Day with my maternal grandparents.  I think it was the year before my grandfather passed away when we had two additional guests for Thanksgiving dinner: a couple from Italy that my grandfather knew from his business.  As we sat down to dinner, my grandfather either asked or informed me that I was to explain the reason for this particular holiday and recount the blessings for which we were thankful.  So after obediently recalling our history and numbering the blessings of the year, I looked to my grandfather so that the meal could begin.  And then he said to me, “Now you say the prayer.”  And the twelve year old future priest of God Most High responded, “I really don’t like to pray in front of other people.”  My grandfather, not to be outdone, responded, “I will give you 50 cents if you say the prayer.”  I have always thought of that as my first Mass stipend.

Today we gather and we recount our sacred history.  We remember the blessings that God has bestowed upon his people.  We recall the blessing of the Chosen People and their deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh.  We remember the pilgrims who fled Europe seeking to worship according to the dictates of their conscience.  We recall the blessings that God in his goodness has bestowed upon each of us.  But chiefly, dear brothers and sisters, we remember that the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father made the pilgrimage from heaven and has dwelt among us.  The Lord Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, invites us to join in his Great Thanksgiving to the Father.

We have recalled our history.  We have recounted our blessings.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, we offer the prayer.

Happy Thanksgiving.  Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for Sunday November 18, 2012 (33rd Sunday B)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Our readings from the Sacred Scriptures provide two messages for us today.  One is a message of warning.  The other is a message of hope.

In our reading from the book of the prophet Daniel, we hear about a time of great distress for the chosen people of the Lord.  In our reading from the Gospel we hear about a time of great tribulation when everything that brings light will be banished from the skies.  It will be a time of great darkness.  Our readings today provide for us a warning that distress and tribulation and persecution will be part of the experience of the people of God.  This was the experience of the chosen people of the Lord in the time of the prophet Daniel.  This was the experience of the early Church.  And, dear brothers and sisters, this is and it will be our experience as well.

In nearly every corner of the world the precious and fundamental right of religious freedom is under attack.  The government of this country has been consistent in the last few years in its unwavering assault on the dignity of human life, on the dignity and nature of marriage, and on the freedom of conscience.  In many other parts of the world Christians are being killed every day by those who hate our faith.  Christians are being killed every day throughout this world because they are seeking to live the virtues of the Gospel.  It is a time of distress, tribulation, and persecution.

And yet, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a time for holiness and a time for hope.  Every government that has persecuted the Church has eventually fallen.  The Church and her people, and her unwavering faith, remain.  Holiness and hope will always triumph over persecution and distress.

Our task is to listen attentively to the voice of the Lord.  The scriptures promise us that everything else will pass away.  Heaven and earth will pass away.  Persecution and distress and tribulation will pass away.  The governments that persecute the Church and her people will pass away. But the word of the Lord will remain forever.

The message of hope that we hear today is that the Lord is present among his people in the midst of distress, tribulation and persecution.  In the time of the prophet Daniel, the Archangel Michael was given as a protector for the people.  In the gospel, the Lord Jesus promised to be present to his people through his word until he returns with great power and glory.  The Lord Jesus has promised to gather us from the ends of the earth.  He has called us, as his own beloved children, to shine in this world like the stars of the sky.  No matter the darkness of this world, the Lord Jesus calls each of us to reflect his light and his love.

In order to reflect his light and his love, we must live in his light and in his love.  In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear that Christ our High Priest has offered the perfect and acceptable sacrifice and that he has taken his seat at the right hand of God.  When we gather for the celebration of the Eucharist, the word of the Lord that endures forever is proclaimed to us.  When we celebrate the Eucharist, we are joining in the one offering of Christ.  We were united to him in our baptism on earth and so we are also united to him in the temple of heaven.  When we respond to the invitation of the Lord and join in the celebration of his triumph over sin and death, we encounter the light of his glory.  And when, dear brothers and sisters, we encounter the light of his glory, we are transformed and we reflect the light of his glory.

As we now enter into the mystery of the suffering, death and resurrection of the Lord, let us remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering persecution throughout the world.  Let us listen attentively to the enduring word of the Lord and his message of hope.  And let us be transformed by the light of the Lord’s teaching so that we can reflect the light of his glory.

Preached (in Spanish) at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for Sunday November 11, 2012 (32nd Sunday B)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

In the early days of the month of November we celebrate the feast of All Saints and the feast of All Souls.  Throughout this month we pray in a particular way for the faithful departed.  We also recall on the 11^th of November the celebration of Veteran’s Day.  Veteran’s Day began as the anniversary of the end of, what was called, the war to end all wars.  It is a day that we, as a nation, set aside to remember all those who have served this country in the armed forces.  We remember those brave souls who have served in peacetime and in time of war, both at home and abroad.  We honor their service and we honor their sacrifice.  And when we ask these men and women about their time in the service, when we ask them about their units and about those with whom they served, they will often tell us about those who did not make it home.  They will tell us that all gave some, but that some gave all.

We have in our readings today two widows who gave all.  In our first reading from the book of Kings we encounter the widow who was gathering sticks to build a fire so that she might prepare the last meal that she and her son would be able to eat.  And yet at the request of the prophet Elijah, forgetting herself, she took some of her remaining flour and some of her remaining oil, and prepared something for him to eat.  The jar of flour and the jug of oil which contained only enough for one small meal did not go empty and it provided for them for the whole year.

In the Gospel we encounter the poor widow who made her small offering to the treasury of the temple.  With so many people coming through and with so many offerings being made, it was the widow offering her two small coins that caught the attention of the Lord Jesus.  The two small coins, the offering of the poor, which were offered by the poor widow, would certainly have caught the attention of the Lord Jesus because it was the offering of the poor, two small turtledoves, that were the offering made when the child Jesus was presented in the temple.  But more than the coins and more than the amount of the offering, the Lord Jesus praised the generosity of the widow.  The Lord Jesus praised the attitude that accompanied the offering.  You see, dear brothers and sisters, the widow did not give from what she had left over.  She gave from all that she had.  All who were coming into the temple that day gave some, but she gave all.

These two widows challenge us to consider how we think about giving to the Lord.  They challenge us and they inspire us because they gave unto the Lord holding nothing back for themselves.  Relying on the providence of Almighty God and placing their security in the hands of the Lord of heaven and earth, these two widows call us to consider not only the gifts that our lives and all that we have are.  These two widows call us to consider the gifts that our lives and all that we have are called to be.  They are to be a total offering.

The offering of Christ the High Priest, who enters the sanctuary not made by human hands, is a total offering.  Christ Jesus holds nothing back in his complete self offering to the Father.  Bearing the wounds of his passion and death, Jesus reconciles us to the Father by the blood of his holy cross.  Bearing the glorious sign of his victory over sin and death, Christ Jesus holds nothing back when he offers himself to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Jesus Christ offers himself completely to the Father and completely to his Church, and Jesus Christ invites each of us to do the same.  His invites us to a life of giving all.

As we enter into the mystery of the total offering of the Lord made present to us on the Altar, let us follow the example of the holy widows and hold nothing back.  Let us remember that Christ our High Priest has invited us to join in his perfect and acceptable offering.  And let us ask for the grace to live a life, not of giving some, but of giving all.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for Sunday November 4, 2012 (31st Sunday B)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Today the command of the Lord Jesus in the reading from the Gospel is quite simple.  The many and varied commandments of the law that were given in the Old Testament are summarized by the Lord Jesus into only two commandments.  They are quite simple, and yet they are very, very difficult.

It was a common practice in the time of Jesus for scholars of the law to discuss the most important commandments, and then to propose a brief summary for those who followed them.  There are, in the Old Testament, six hundred and thirteen commandments, not only ten, so such a summary was very useful.  When one of the scribes approached the Lord Jesus he was seeking the opinion of the Lord about the most important commandment.  From six hundred and thirteen commandments, the Lord Jesus proclaims only two.  And from the many words contained in those two commandments, one word summarizes them both: love.

The command of the Lord Jesus is simple.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole message of the Sacred Scriptures and the message of our faith focus on these two relationships.  We are invited to respond to the love that God has shown to us with every part of our being.  We give to God the gift of our hearts and we offer all of our affections.  We give to God the gift of our souls and we offer our present and our future.  We give to God the gift of our minds and we offer every thought and ability for his glory.  We give to God the gift of our strength and we offer every work of our hands to build up his kingdom.  Our response to the invitation of the Lord is to be complete.   The invitation of the Lord is quite simple, the Lord has asked for everything.

When we consider the love of our neighbor, there is something more challenging to consider.  It is not the question about the identity of our neighbor.  It is not even the question about what we owe to our neighbors.  What we must consider when we ponder the commandment of the Lord to love our neighbors as ourselves, is whether or not we indeed actually love ourselves. 

The commandment to love God and love our neighbor presumes that we love ourselves.  It is not the kind of love of self that is self-centered, egotistical and exclusive. Those kinds of love are spiritual weeds that we do well to root from the garden of our souls.  That would be love turned inward.  We love ourselves not because we are captivated by our goodness and virtues, but because God Almighty loves us as the pinnacle of creation, his very own image and likeness.  This is not a love that we earned.  It is not a love that we could earn.  And it’s not a love that we can lose.  God will not stop loving us.  It is a love, however, that we can reject.  We can by our choices and responses choose to live outside of love.  We can choose to reject the gift of love that the Father has offered to us.  But God, for his part, has chosen to love us, and created in freedom and love, we can choose to accept the gift of his love. 

It is, dear brothers and sisters, a most difficult gift for us to accept.  It is a gift too great and too good for us to imagine.  In the eternal love of the Eternal Father, we have been created in love and declared worthy of being loved.  The love that God has for us and the love that God shows to us come before any commandment that God gives to us.  Let us live in his love, and respond to his love, and share in his love.  It really is quite simple.  Amen.   

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for All Saints Day (November 1, 2012)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Today is one of my favorite feast days.  Today we celebrate the feast of All Saints.  It is one of my favorite feast days because I hope that someday, this will be my feast day and your feast day as well.

All of us were created to be saints and all of us are called to be saints.  What does it mean to be a saint?  It is quite simple, dear brothers and sisters.  A saint is a person who is in love with God, and who has passed beyond the veil of death.  A saint is a person who was in love with God in this life and now is radiant in the love of God in eternal life.  For us, the saints show us how to fall in love with God, and they pray for us so that we will fall in love with God.

When we celebrate the feast day of a particular saint, we celebrate the way in which that particular saint fell in love with God and teaches us to do the same.  When we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, we celebrate the great mind that God gave to him, which he, in turn, gave back to God.  When we celebrate St. Therese we celebrate the childlike confidence that she had.  When we celebrate saints like St. Maximilian Kolbe or St. Toribio Romo, we celebrate the great apostolic courage of these men.  But when we celebrate the feast of All Saints, we celebrate and we honor all of the various ways that God has called each of his people to fall in love with him.  Today, we celebrate the ways that God is calling each of us, to fall in love with Him.

A saint is a person who is in love with God and has passed beyond the veil of death.  We ask the intercession of all of the Saints today, so that however God calls us, we will fall in love with Him, and someday, this will be our feast day too. 

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC