Sunday, November 24, 2013

Homily for November 24, 2013 (Christ the King C)



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

On this Sunday we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.  This is the final Sunday of the liturgical year.  Next week we will begin the season of Advent and our time of preparation for the feast of Our Lord’s birth.  In only a few weeks, we will celebrate the feast of the New Born King.  Today, however, our readings and the prayers of the Mass draw our focus to Jesus Christ who is the glorious and reigning king of the universe.  The Lord Jesus, the Son of David the King, is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.  He is a man like us in all things but sin.  He is the one, anointed by the Father with the oil of gladness as the eternal priest and king.  The Lord Jesus is the one who reconciles us to the Father by the blood of his holy cross.  Today we celebrate 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, our reading from the Gospel today does not show us an image of Christ as the triumphant ruler.  We do not see him as the judge of the nations at the end of history or as the shepherd who protects his flock.  Today we encounter Christ on the cross.  In him is the fullness of divine power.  Through him all things, visible and invisible, were made.  He is the king of the angels and the Lord of all history.  But today we see him scourged, and crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross.  The king of the universe is the crucified and suffering savior.

The crowds gathered to acclaim David as king in our first reading.  The crowds gathered at the foot of the cross to mock the kingship of the Lord Jesus.  David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel and had proven himself again and again in battle.  The rulers and the soldiers and even a crucified criminal demanded that Jesus prove his kingship by freeing himself from the cross.  They wanted him to abandon the cross.  They demanded a demonstration of his divine and royal power.

And he showed mercy.

Two men were crucified with the Lord Jesus.  One mocked him, and the other one recognized him.  The good thief saw in the face of Christ an innocent man who suffers for the guilty.  He saw a man crowned with thorns and suffering, yet one who possesses a kingdom.  Christ Jesus came into the world to establish his kingdom.  Through his passion and cross, Jesus Christ took possession of all suffering with his kingly power.  He would not abandon the cross as the crowd demanded, because to abandon the cross would be to abandon those who suffer.  Jesus Christ is king over suffering and he is king in the midst of suffering.  And when the good thief, in the midst of suffering, called upon the name of the Lord Jesus, his prayer was heard.  The voice of the penitent and suffering one resounded far more than the noise of the crowd.  His plea was heard and the Lord Jesus responded with a promise: “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”  The good thief was given a share in the kingdom.

And we, dear brothers and sisters, have been promised a share in the kingdom.  We were claimed for the kingdom in the waters of baptism and anointed to be like Christ as priest, prophet and king.  As we now approach our suffering and glorious king we join with him in the eternal offering to the Father.  Conscious of our guilt, but more confident in his mercy, our hearts cry out in faith and hope, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Amen.

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

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Homily for November 17, 2013 (33rd Sunday C)



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

The Lord Jesus, in our readings today has given us a warning.  He has told us that before he returns in glory at the consummation of the world, that we would be seized and persecuted and that we will be handed over to those who will criticize and mock us.  We will be called before the world to give an account for the hope that is ours.  We will be called to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

We are often confronted by people who hate the Church and the Catholic Faith, or more often, we are confronted by people who hate what they think is the Catholic Church and her sacred teachings.  In these moments of confrontation, when what we hold most dear is being attacked and when our very identity is at stake, we are faced with a choice of responses.  We can throw the intellectual rock of our faith.  We can present the clear witness of Sacred Scripture and the overwhelming proof of history.  We can respond with righteous indignation to each and every one of the charges against us.  We can crush those who attack us with the truths of our faith.

Or, dear brothers and sisters, we can cast a fishing line.

The Lord Jesus tells us not to prepare any defense.  He tells us to be at peace. The Lord Jesus himself will give us the wisdom to make our testimony of faith that our adversaries will be powerless to resist or to refute.  This wisdom is the bait for the fishing line.  The testimony that cannot be denied is holiness, and it is irresistible and irrefutable.

We are all called to holiness.  We are all called to seek a deeper union with the Lord Jesus.  That is the overwhelming message of the Second Vatican Council.  Everyone in the Church is called to holiness, and we are called to holiness through the events of our daily lives.  Saint Paul reminds us that it is important for each of us to be diligent in our daily work. Saint Paul reminds us to follow his example of loving service.  In so doing, we will grow in holiness because we are being faithful to our vocation.  Every vocation is a path to holiness.  A vocation is given by God and embraced by us in love.  Your life as a mother or a father, as a married person or a single person, of whatever age and whatever career, is your path to grow closer to God.  The Lord Jesus calls you to holiness right where you are.  He calls you to holiness through the events of each and every day.  Our daily work is an opportunity to grow in holiness and be a witness for the Lord Jesus.

But my dear brothers and sisters, the most important thing that we do to grow in holiness, is respond to the invitation of the Lord to the celebration of the Eucharist.  It is here, where we are fed by the Word of God and the Bread of Life, that we are strengthened to be his witnesses.  We are healed by the rays of the Sun of Justice, as the prophet Malachi tells us.  We are healed, dear brothers and sisters, so that we can respond with compassion and with faithfulness and cast not rocks, but a fishing line.  Amen.

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

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Homily for November 10, 2013 (32nd Sunday C)



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

On the 11th of November each year, we celebrate Veteran’s Day.  We remember in a particular way those who have served in the Armed Forces of this country.  We remember those who served in times of peace and times of war.  And we remember those who shed their blood and gave their lives in defense of freedom throughout the world.  We remember and we honor those who remained faithful to their mission, even unto death.

In our first reading from the book of Maccabees, we hear of the seven brothers who remained faithful even unto death.  They were victims of religious persecution and they accepted death from the government rather than violate their consciences.  They believed that the law of God was more precious than the law of man.  These seven brothers were faithful unto death because they believed and they hoped in the promise of God for eternal life.  They were people of faith, who lived in hope.

The Sadducees in our gospel, however, were people without hope.  Today in the reading from the gospel, the Sadducees asked the Lord Jesus a question about particular details of the resurrection to eternal life.  The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection or in eternal life.  They rejected any notion of an afterlife.  Their entire existence was based on what could be gained in this world, with no expectation for the next world.  The question that they posed was designed to mock the Lord Jesus.  Some of this same group would likely be mocking him at his trial.  The Sadducees focused everything on attaining money and prestige and power in this life, because they had no thought of the resurrection.  They were not people of faith in the Living God.  They were not faithful unto death, because they had no hope of eternal life.

But we have the hope of eternal life.  

We are gathered as believers in the promise of the Living God.  The gospel in which we have put our faith is the message of sure and certain hope that sin and death will not prevail against those who are united to Christ Jesus.  The Lord Jesus who claimed us for himself in the waters of our baptism will receive his faithful ones as his own in the Kingdom of the Father. 

In our daily struggle against sin and temptation and persecution, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who urge us on to victory.  We are surrounded, dear brothers and sisters, by the holy ones who were faithful unto death, and who believed in the promise of eternal life.  St. Peter and St. Paul and St. Jude gave their lives and shed their blood because they proclaimed that they had seen the Risen Lord.  St. Leo and St. Ambrose lived in faith and died in hope as they shepherded the flock of God and challenged the political authorities who challenged the authority of God.  St. Padre Pio showed us the mercy of God and the wounds of Christ, and St. Francis Xavier proclaimed the Good News throughout the world.  St. Toribio Romo was killed because he preached in faith and would not abandon his flock.  St. Stephen preached boldly and served humbly and died in hope, and St. Francis proclaimed the joy of the Lord.  From St. Edward the Confessor we saw the exercise of authority with charity and St. Juan Diego brought us the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.   We have the example of the holy and prayerful mothers St. Anne and St. Monica.  St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine lived in powerful and tender devotion to the Lord Jesus.  St. Louise lived her faith and cared for abandoned children, and St. Therese showed us the little way of loving the Lord.  St. Josephine Bakhita and St. Faustina lived the message of mercy and welcomed people to the house of God.  St. Bernadette lived in simplicity and hope, and received the message and the waters of Lourdes.  And St. Lucy, St. Cecilia, and St. Dymphna gave themselves up to death rather than belong to anyone other than Christ Jesus the Lord.

We are surrounded, dear brothers and sisters, by a cloud of witnesses who were faithful unto death.  May they encourage us and pray for us that we might live in faith and rejoice in hope and believe in the promise of eternal life.  Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe NC

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Homily for November 3, 2013 (31st Sunday C)



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

Zacchaeus wanted to see the Lord Jesus.  He wanted to see him and he wanted to know him.  Zacchaeus would not allow anything to prevent him from seeing the Lord Jesus.  Even though the crowd was very large, and Zacchaeus was short, he made an effort to see the Lord Jesus.  Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he could see the Lord Jesus.

We are here because we want to see the Lord Jesus.  We want to see him and we want to know him.  We are here because we have come to believe that he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  We have come to profess our faith that Christ Jesus is the answer to the deepest questions of our hearts.  We have come here to listen to his word, to offer him our worship and our prayers, and to encounter the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.  We have come to this Church so that we can see the Lord Jesus.

In our reading from the Gospel, the Lord Jesus saw Zacchaeus.  He saw him, and he called him.  Zacchaeus was invited to come closer to the Lord Jesus.  The Lord Jesus called Zacchaeus by his name, just as each of us was called by name in the Sacrament of Baptism.  The Lord has looked upon us and he has called us to himself. 

The Lord said to Zacchaeus, “Today, I must stay at your house.”  This was a great honor for Zacchaeus.  The Lord Jesus had seen him.  He had called him.  And now, the Lord Jesus wanted to remain with him.  The Lord wanted to dwell in the house of Zacchaeus so that he could fully dwell in the heart of Zacchaeus.  The Lord Jesus desires to stay with us today.  He has promised to remain with us always, even until the end of the world.  He has promised to remain in the soul of the believer.  He has promised to remain with us in his Church.  He has promised to remain with us in the tabernacle.    

Zacchaeus wanted to receive the Lord Jesus into his home.  He made room for the Lord Jesus.  Zacchaeus would give away half of his possessions and renounce his dishonest practices so that he could welcome the Lord Jesus.  Zacchaeus, like St. Paul, counted everything else as a loss when compared with seeing and knowing and receiving Jesus Christ.  Nothing was more important to Zacchaeus than receiving the Lord Jesus. 

Is anything, dear brothers and sisters, more important to you?

Amen.

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