Homily for December 28, 2014 (Feast of the Holy Family)

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

“Father, will you see your family on Christmas?”

“Yes I will.  I am celebrating three Masses on Christmas Eve and three Masses on Christmas Day.”

“No, Father.  I am asking if you will see your family on Christmas.”

“Yes I will.  I am celebrating three Masses on Christmas Eve and three Masses on Christmas Day.”

“Father, you do not seem to understand my question.  I am asking if you will see your family on Christmas.”

“My dear child, you do not seem to understand my answer.  Of course I will see my family on Christmas.  I will spend most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the family that God has entrusted to my care.  I will see my family on Christmas.”

My dear brothers and sisters, I imagine that I thoroughly confused the seven year old with whom I had that conversation.  But you are not confused.  We know that in the mercy of God and by our baptism into Christ Jesus we have become part of the Holy Family.  We know that when the Church gathers for the celebration of the Eucharist that we are at the table of the Holy Family.  The Eucharist is always the celebration of the Holy Family, whether we gather in celebration, in sorrow, with joy or with gratitude.  This is the celebration of the Holy Family.  This is the place where we know the protection of St. Joseph and the love of the Virgin Mary.  This is the place where we hear Simeon and Anna sing the praises of God because God has kept his promise.  This is the place where the angels greet the shepherds and shepherds meet the Son of God.  This is the place and this is the time when the Holy Family gathers.  This is our home and this is our family.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

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

Homily for Christmas 2014

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

Do not be afraid.  Those were the words of the Angel: Do not be afraid.  People had been afraid of God for generations.  They had been afraid of justice.  They had been afraid of punishment.  They had been afraid even, that the reality of the living God would call them to a life that was greater than they could imagine.  Do not be afraid, said the Angel, Do not be afraid.

He did not come to us in power.  It was not a violent conquest.  He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.  He appeared, and he took possession of his creation.  The Word of the Father, through whom all things were created, comes to us in utter humility.  Not in strength do we meet him, but in weakness.  Not in power do we see him, but held in the arms of his mother.  There is no need to be afraid.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is a baby.  We cannot fear him.  We can only fall in love with him.

It is the love of God the Father and the loving response of the Virgin Mother that brings the Lord Jesus to us.  He is the child that was promised and the Redeemer that will save us.  He will reveal to us the eternal will of the Eternal God and he will teach us what it means to truly love.  He will invite us to the Kingdom of his Father, to the table with his apostles, to the mountain for his teaching, and tonight he invites us to the manger where he was born.  We meet this baby and we are conquered by love.  In the captivating face of this baby, we gaze upon the face of the invisible God.  In the captivating face of this baby, we gaze upon the face of him in whose image we were created.  In the captivating face of this baby, we fall passionately in love with the God who is passionately in love with us.  There is no need to be afraid.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is a baby.  We cannot fear him.  We can only fall in love with him.

And this baby will make room in our hearts, just as he made room in the manger.  There was no room in the inn for him to be born.  Yet after the birth of the Lord Jesus there was room for the shepherds.  In the mystery of divine love, at an inn that was overcrowded, the whole world now comes to worship.  The Lord Jesus brought the love of heaven to earth and made room on earth for the love of heaven.  He made room in the manger.  He can make room in our hearts.  There is no need to be afraid.  O Come let us adore him.  Amen 

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

Homily for December 21, 2014 (4th Advent B)

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

In the season of Advent we keep watch for the one who keeps his promise.  We prepare the way of the Lord and we rejoice because the promise made to our fathers, the promise made to Abraham and to his children forever, is being fulfilled.  The promise is being fulfilled, and Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, believes the promise.  In the name of all creation, Mary believes the promise.

It was not the word of a prophet that Mary believed.  It was not the voice crying out in the wilderness.  It was the voice of the angel Gabriel, sent from heaven with the message of salvation.  The angel Gabriel approached the holy Virgin with reverence and revealed the invitation of the Most High God.  The angel Gabriel revealed that the promise of the Redeemer was being fulfilled.  And Mary believed the promise.  She believed the promise of God made in the Garden of Eden.  She believed in the promise of God made to the House of David.  She believed in the promise of God that brings liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and comfort to the broken-hearted.  She believed in the promise that will set us free and that will make us whole.

Mary is the believer of the promise and Mary is the bearer of the promise.  Within her, the promise of the Most High God dwells in hidden silence.  Within her, the union of God and man is present to the world and yet veiled from sight.  Within her, the power that all creation cannot contain resides in an unborn child.  Mary is the bearer of the promise.  Mary is the Ark of the Covenant.  King David did not build the house for the Ark of God.  God himself built the Ark of the new Covenant in Mary.  She is the bearer of the promise of God.  She is the Ark of the New Covenant.  Mary is the first tabernacle and the first Church.  Consecrated at her conception, within Mary dwells the God who is worthy of our worship, the High Priest who offers the acceptable sacrifice, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  She is the bearer of the promise.

And so are we.  We have heard the promise.  We have prepared the way of the Lord and we have rejoiced in the salvation announced by our God.  We are believers in the promise made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.  From generation to generation we have kept watch and we have believed the promise.  From generation to generation, we have been made sharers in the promise.  We are bearers of the promise of salvation because the Lord has chosen to dwell within us.  He has claimed his place.  He has consecrated his temple.  Now, dear brothers and sisters, we await the fulfillment of the promise.  Amen.

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

Homily for December 14, 2014 (3rd Advent B)

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

In the season of Advent we keep watch for the one who keeps his promise. In the season of Advent we prepare the way of the Lord. And in the season of Advent we are invited to rejoice as we prepare to meet the Lord.

It is not with fear and trembling that we wait to meet the Lord. We do not wait for the violent invasion of a conquering foe. It is not an enemy who approaches us in the silence of the night. We await the arrival of the one on whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells in resplendent fullness. We await the one who will bring glad tidings to the poor and liberty to the captives. We await the one who will declare the year of favor and the vindication of the Lord our God. We await the one who will set us free.

And as we wait, we rejoice. We do not wait in sorrow or in sadness. We rejoice heartily in the Lord who is the joy of our souls. We rejoice in the Lord who is faithful and who has called us to himself. We rejoice in the promise of the one who keeps his promise. We rejoice in the good news that has been announced to us. We rejoice in the glory that shall be revealed to us.

Isaiah announced the promise and the glory. Paul announced the promise and the glory. And John the Baptist looked upon the face of him who is the promise and the glory. John the Baptist only invited the people to follow him so that he could lead them to the Savior. John knew that his life was a reflection of the glory of the Lord. He was not the glory. He was not the light. John the Baptist rejoiced that he was privileged to testify to the light. He was privileged to show the way. He was privileged to proclaim the coming of the Lord in power and in majesty, in humility and in simplicity. John the Baptist was privileged to show the way to Jesus.

And that, my dear brothers and sisters, is our privilege too. We have heard the promise made to the prophets. We have heard the proclamation of Paul. And we have joined with John the Baptist in preparing the way of the Lord. We are privileged to hear the promise. We are privileged to testify to the light. We are privileged to show the way to Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice.  Amen.

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

Homily for Our Lady of Guadalupe 2014 (December 12,2014)

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

The voice of the Virgin calls us! The voice of the Virgin of Guadalupe calls us here this evening for the celebration of her feast. The voice of the Virgin calls us!

The voice of the Virgin called Juan Diego. Juan Diego was humble and he heard her voice. Juan Diego was obedient and faithful and he heard her voice. Juan Diego was going to participate in divine worship and he heard her voice. He heard her voice.  He heard the voice of the Mother of God. He heard her voice and he obeyed.

The voice of the Virgin calls us and we want to hear her voice. I want to hear the voice of the Virgin, because she will tell me about the Lord Jesus. The voice of the Virgin of Guadalupe will tell us about the Lord Jesus. We want to hear her voice because we want to know the Lord Jesus. We want to know him, because the prophets promised him. We want to know him, because in him alone we will find salvation. In him alone we will know the love that the Father has for us. In him alone, our prayers and our lives will be accepted in the presence of the Father.

In our Holy Mother the Church, we will hear the voice of the Virgin. Everywhere we can see her image. Every home has the image of the Virgin. She has given her image to the whole world. But only in the Church will we hear the voice of the Virgin. Only in the Church will we hear the voice of the Virgin telling us about her Son. We must come to the Church, each and every Sunday to hear the voice of the Virgin Mary. We must come to the Church, each and every Sunday to hear the words of the Lord Jesus. We must come to the Church, each and every Sunday to give praise to the Father through his Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The voice of the Virgin calls us here.

If we want to hear the voice of the Virgin, we must listen like Juan Diego. We must be humble. Those who are proud cannot hear the voice of the Virgin. If we want to hear the voice of the Virgin, we must be faithful and obedient. We must be faithful to our God and to our families. We must be obedient to the will of the Father and to our Mother the Church. If we want to hear the voice of the Virgin, we must join in the worship of her Son. We must offer our sacrifice of praise to the Father each day, and not just flowers to our mother on this day.

The voice of the Virgin calls us.  The voice of the Virgin calls us to the Church.  The voice of the Virgin tells us about the Lord Jesus and invites us to worship. If we listen to the voice of the Virgin, she will lead us to the Kingdom of her Son.  Viva la Virgin! Amen.

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

Homily for the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2014)

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

In the second chapter of the book of Genesis, the Lord God created the Garden of Eden.  It was pristine, perfect, and immaculate.  The Lord God carefully prepared the Garden.  The Lord God lovingly cared for the Garden.  The Garden was pristine, pure, perfect and immaculate.  Only when the Garden was completely and perfectly prepared did the Lord God create man.  The first man, Adam, was created only after the Garden was prepared.  The Garden was pristine, pure, perfect and immaculate.

Mary is the Garden that was prepared to receive the Lord Jesus.  She is pristine, perfect, pure, and immaculate.  From the very first moment of her life in the womb of St. Anne, Mary is pristine, pure, perfect and immaculate.  She is perfectly prepared to be the Mother of Jesus Christ.

We want our souls to be like Mary.  We want to be prepared to receive the Lord Jesus.  May the Immaculate Mother of God pray for us so that we will be prepared to receive her Son. Amen.

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

Homily for December 7, 2014 (2nd Advent B)

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

In the season of Advent we keep watch for the one who keeps his promise.  We keep watch for the dawn from on high which shall break upon us.  We keep watch for the coming of the Savior, and we prepare the way of the Lord.

Isaiah the prophet has invited us.  John the Baptist has invited us.  Holy Mother Church invites us.  Prepare the way of the Lord.  Make straight the highways and fill in the valleys.  Prepare a highway for our God because the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.  Announce the good news from the mountain tops and bring the glad tidings of great joy to the holy city of Jerusalem.  The Lord Most High shall come to his people.  The Good Shepherd shall gather his flock and lead them with care.  This is the promise of the prophets.  This is the promise made to you and to me.  The Lord shall come to us.  The visitation of the Savior is near.  Prepare the way of the Lord.

There are valleys in darkness that need the light.  There are roads that are blocked that need to be cleared.  There are tombs that are sealed that need to be opened by the word of life and the light of glory.  But they are not outside of us.  These places are within us.  Within us there are the shadows of darkness that need light.  Within us there are roads that are blocked that need to be cleared.  Within us there are tombs that need to be opened by the word of life and the light of glory.

And Christ our Savior, the Light of the world that no darkness can overcome, shall clear the highways and speak the word.  John the Baptist preached repentance and wore a cloak of camel hair.  People came from all over the countryside of Judea to receive a baptism of repentance as they acknowledged their sins.  At the invitation of the prophet, they sought to prepare the way of the Lord.

The preacher of repentance has given up the cloak of camel hair and taken up the purple stole.  No longer shall we go to the side of the river in the Judean countryside, but to the parish church.  No longer do we seek the water that flows from the spring, but from the chair of the prophet we shall seek the mercy that flows from the heart of Christ.  In the sacrament of reconciliation we prepare the way of the Lord.  In that place where we fear to find a judge, we find the welcome of the Savior.  In that place where we fear to receive the punishment of justice, we receive the abundance of mercy.  Do not fear his mercy.  Prepare the way of the Lord.  Amen.

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

Homily for November 30, 2014 (1st Advent B)

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

Today we begin the season of preparation.  Today we begin again.  Each year the Church gives us this season to watch and to wait.  Each year we are given this time to prepare to meet the Lord again on Christmas day.  In this season of Advent, we keep watch for the One who keeps his promise.

It was a promise at the dawn of creation.  It was the promise made to Abraham and to our fathers.  It was the promise announced by the prophets.  It is the promise of the Redeemer, the promise of love and mercy flowing from the heavens and raining down upon the earth. This promise of the love of God that no eye has seen and no ear has heard is made to you and to me.  We shall prepare to receive it, dear brothers and sisters.  We shall be prepared to receive it with the gifts of grace that the Spirit has poured out upon us, enriching us in every way.  We shall keep watch for the One who keeps his promise.

We do not know how long we will have to wait.  We do not know the day or the hour.  These things are kept in the mystery of eternity and set by the authority of the Father.  But we shall keep watch for his coming.  We shall remain like the angels who stand before the throne of the Most High God and worship him night and day.  We shall remain before him who possesses all times and all seasons.  We shall keep watch for the One who keeps his promise.

And the promise to return in glory when the gift to the Father is fully prepared is met by the promise to remain with us always, even until the end of the age.  We shall keep watch with the One who keeps his promise.  Even as we watch for the full revelation of the promise of Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ remains with us.  Heaven breaks open and we hear the voice of the Lord proclaiming his word in the Sacred Scriptures.  Heaven breaks open and the offering of Jesus Christ is made present on the altar.  Heaven breaks open and the body before which angels bow in lowly reverence becomes our food.  Heaven breaks open and we cry out in praise of the Father’s glory.

Today we begin the season of preparation.  Today we begin again.  We shall keep watch for the One who keeps his promise.

Come Lord Jesus.  Amen.

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

Homily for November 23, 2014 (Christ the King A)

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

I want to see the Lord Jesus face to face in the glory of his kingdom. I want to gaze upon the loving face of him whom I preach in faith. I want to have eyes to see him. But the gospel tells me that if I want to see the face of Jesus Christ in the glory of heaven, then I must learn to recognize the face of Jesus Christ on earth. I must learn to recognize him here. We must learn, dear brothers and sisters, to recognize him here.

He has told us where we will see him. He has told us where he is so that we can recognize him. I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. From the voice of Jesus Christ we learn where we can see the face of Jesus Christ. In the words of the Lord himself we hear where we can see him and how we can serve him.

We do not need to travel to see the face of Jesus Christ. We do not need to do extraordinary things to serve the Lord of heaven and earth. It was ordinary acts of kindness that gained the righteous entrance into the kingdom. They were nothing extraordinary, but only ordinary things with love. The righteous recognized a need. They saw an opportunity in front of them. They looked upon something of earth and served the Lord of heaven. They responded to the needs of a beggar and served Christ the King. Though they did not recognize him, they saw the face of Jesus Christ.

We want to see the face of Jesus Christ. We want to be welcomed into his kingdom. We want to receive the words of the Father’s blessing and sit at the table of the children of God. We want to learn to recognize the face of Jesus Christ. We want to see his face in the ultrasound and hear his voice in the cry of a baby. We want to see his face in those who are hungry and thirsty so that we can feed the Good Shepherd who feeds us. We want to see his face in the stranger, and even in the prisoner. We want to recognize the face of Jesus Christ in the sufferings of earth so that we can see him face to face in the glory of heaven.

We will learn to recognize him, dear brothers and sisters, in the Eucharist. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we will come to recognize the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Seeing only bread and wine and gazing on the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we will learn to see him. In the Eucharist, we will see him, and he will open our eyes to see his face in the poor and the suffering. We will come to recognize the face of the Good Shepherd. We will come to recognize him who recognizes each of us as a beloved member of his flock.  Amen.

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

Homily for November 16, 2014 (33rd Sunday A)

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

We have been trusted by the Master, and in the Master we place our trust. In his infinite mercy, goodness and love, the Master, the Lord of heaven and earth, has trusted us. We have been entrusted with creation, with life, with faith, and with the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven. We have been trusted by the Master, dear brothers and sisters, and in the Master we place our trust.

The Master has trusted us with the treasures of the kingdom. We have been trusted with the treasure so that we can build up the kingdom. For the glory of the Master, and the building up of his kingdom, the Master has invited us to join in his work. For our good, and for the building up of the kingdom among us, we have been trusted with the treasure. We have, in fact, dear brothers and sisters, been trusted by the Master with the most precious of the treasures of the kingdom. We have been trusted by the Master with treasure that was worth the life of the Son of God. The Master has trusted us . . .  with each other.

Each of us is a unique, precious and unrepeatable demonstration of the love of God. Each of us was created in the image and likeness of God. Each of us is part of the treasure of the kingdom, and each of us has a part in the building up of the treasure of the kingdom. At the call of God, men and women entrust themselves to each other in the bond of marriage. In the providence of God, children are entrusted to parents, and parents are entrusted to their children. At the invitation of God, men and women entrust themselves to God through his Church for the proclamation of the faith and the building up of his kingdom. And in the mercy of God, and because of his great goodness, the Master entrusts part of his flock to a young shepherd, and a young shepherd is entrusted to the flock. Here is the treasure of the kingdom.  Here, we will build up the treasure of the kingdom. Here, we will grow together, trusting in the care of the Master. We have been trusted by the Master, and in the Master we place our trust.

The servants in the parable were given a share in the master’s money. We have been given a share in the Master’s life. He has made us sharers in the life of God. He has counted us worthy to stand in his presence and to serve him. We have been trusted, dear brothers and sisters, with the treasures of the Kingdom. The Master has trusted us with each other. Let us place our trust in the Master, and share in the Master’s joy.  Amen.

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

Homily for November 9, 2014 (Dedication of St. John Lateran)

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

The Church is built of living stones and not of brick and mortar. We are those living stones. Chosen from the most precious of materials and formed in the image and likeness of God, we are the building blocks of the Kingdom of God in this time and in this place.

And yet, today we celebrate the dedication of a particular building. We celebrate the dedication of the Church of St. John Lateran. This Church is one of the four principal basilicas of the city of Rome. It is one of the oldest churches in the world, having been consecrated in the fourth century, shortly after Christianity became a legal religion. It was one of the first sites to be publically claimed as holy ground. It is dedicated to Christ our Savior and to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

But there is a more important reason why the whole world celebrates the dedication of this particular church building. It is not because it is old.  It is not because it is beautiful. It is because of the pastor of this particular church building. The Church of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome.  It is place where the chair of the Bishop resides. The Church of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral Church of Our Holy Father Francis.  It is his cathedral. He is the official pastor, and we are all members of his flock. We celebrate with our Holy Father on the patronal feast of his cathedral.

Yet the Church is made of living stones and not of brick and mortar. Each of us has been made a temple of the Living God in the waters of baptism. We have been washed and anointed and consecrated. Our souls and our bodies have been publicly claimed as holy ground by the Most Holy God. It is to the soul of the baptized Christian believer that the Holy Spirit comes to worship the Father . . .  but only when the temple is prepared. 

The doors of our souls that were opened in our baptism can be closed from the inside by sin.  We can close the doors to the temple. We can claim for ourselves that which rightly belongs to God. We can take back the holy ground, but the seal of the love of God remains forever. Even in the darkest sin, our souls bear the mark of the Savior. Even in the darkest sin, the seal of the Savior cries out to the Father for mercy. It is the seal on our souls, this mark that can never be covered by the darkness of sin, which draws us to mercy of God in the sacrament of reconciliation. In the tribunal of mercy, the doors that were locked are opened by the key of the cross of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

Homily for November 2, 2014 (All Souls Day)

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

In every celebration of the Eucharist, we encounter the love of Jesus Christ.  We enter into his radiant glory.  We are called by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.  We are called to believe in faith, to live in love, and ultimately to die in hope.  We believe in faith and live in love and hopefully die in the hope of the glory that is to be revealed in us.  We are called by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ to the Kingdom of Heaven.  We are called to be saints.  That is our vocation and our destiny: to be saints in the glory of heaven.  We have been called, dear brothers and sisters, by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.

We shall be purified, dear brothers and sisters, by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.  It is the love of Christ that purifies us.  It is the love of Christ at work within us that burns away the darkness of sin.  It is the purifying love of Jesus Christ that purges the stains of sin from our baptismal garments.  It is the love of Jesus Christ that purifies us even when the days of our life on earth have come to an end.  The radiant glory of Jesus Christ continues the work of purification so that we can fully embrace the glory of heaven.  And the radiant glory of Jesus Christ invites the members of the Church militant on earth, and the saints of the Church triumphant in heaven to come to the aid of the members of the Church penitent undergoing purification.  We share in the purifying work of the love of Christ when we offer our prayers and sacrifices for the faithful departed.  We offer our prayers and sacrifices for our brothers and sisters who have died so that they may fully embrace the love God has for them.  They shall be purified and we shall be purified by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.

We have been called and we shall be purified. We shall become holy, in this life and the next, by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ shining on us and shining through us.  We have been called and we shall be purified, but above all, dear brothers and sisters, we shall be glorified by the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.

From the foundation of the world, our loving Father has chosen us to share the likeness and the glory of his Son.  In the radiant glory of Jesus Christ we are called to the Kingdom of heaven.  Through the radiant glory of Jesus Christ we are purified, and our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again are purified.  We are made ready to enter the wedding feast of heaven.  We shall be glorified in the radiant glory of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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

Homily for October 26, 2014 (30th Sunday A)

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

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  With clarity and simplicity the Lord Jesus commands us to love.  With the authority of the Son, the Lord Jesus commands us to love the Father.  With the authenticity of a life of justice, compassion, and truth, the Lord Jesus commands us to love our neighbor.  With clarity and simplicity the Lord Jesus commands us to love.  But dear brothers and sisters, there is a love that comes before the giving of the command.

We do not love God because we have been commanded.  We love God because we have responded.  We did not begin this relationship.  We were not the first to profess our love.  It is God who has loved us from all eternity.  It is the Lord God who needs nothing, who has desired us in love.  We were created in the love of God so that God could share his love with us.  We do not love God because we have been commanded.  We love God because we have responded.

Our response of love to God’s love calls us to turn away from every idol that seeks our worship.  Our response of love to God’s love calls us to reject every invitation that does not come forth from the mouth of God.  Our response of love to God’s love calls us to give ourselves totally and completely, without condition, without reservation, and without exception, into the hands of the Living God.  We lift up our hearts to the Lord because the heart of the Lord is pierced with love for us.  We do not love God because we have been commanded.  We love God because we have responded.

Our response of love to God’s love calls us to share that love with our neighbor.  Remembering that our ancestors were once slaves in Egypt, our response of love to God’s love calls us to combat every denial of human dignity.  Remembering the poverty of the Savior in Bethlehem; our response of love to God’s love calls us to see the holy face of Jesus Christ in the face of the poor and the suffering.   Our response of love to God’s love is offered to God in our worship and extended from God in our service.

We do not love God because we have been commanded.  We love God because we have responded.  We have been claimed by the love that God has for us.  With the apostle John we have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.  This is the love of God that surrounds us before any command of God is given to us.  This is the love of God that fills our souls with the light of glory and makes of us radiant signs of the love of God.  Radiant, dear brothers and sisters, in the light of the love of Jesus Christ, we shall be signs that light the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Amen.

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

Homily for October 19, 2014 (29th Sunday A)

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

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.  The coin made in the image and likeness of Caesar belongs to Caesar, but we were made in the image and likeness of God.  We do not belong to Caesar.  We belong to God. 

Caesar has his legitimate power.  Caesar can take us to war.  Caesar can take us to jail, but Caesar cannot take us to heaven.  Salvation does not belong to the government, but to the Most High God.  Every government that has promised its people salvation has eventually made its people into slaves.  This is not our destiny, brothers and sisters.  We have been created and consecrated as sons and daughters for the Kingdom of Heaven.  We do not belong to Caesar.  We belong to God.

And God is worthy of our worship.  We enter into this Church each week, and hopefully we enter into prayer each day, because the Lord God is worthy of our praise.  In worship we respond in love to the love that God has shown to us.  We come to worship to give to God what belongs to God.  We come to worship to give of ourselves, of our time and of the fruits of our labors.  We come to worship to make our offering to the Father through the sacrifice of the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  In worship we give to God what belongs to God, and we belong to God.

But God has also sent us to Caesar and to our society.  We have a mission, dear brothers and sisters.  The whole people of God have been sent on a mission by God.  We have been called to the altar to praise the glory of the Father in the midst of the Church, so that we can proclaim the goodness of the Father in the midst of the world.  We come to worship and we are transformed so that we can be the transforming presence in the world.  We are sent to Caesar and to our society as salt and as light.  The Christian people are called to bring the purification of what is bad and the preservation of what is good to our society.  The Christian people are called to bring illumination to the darkness whenever Caesar and the state have rejected what the Lord God has declared.  This is our mission to Caesar and to our society.  

We owe to Caesar and to our society the voices of the Christian people proclaiming the dignity of life, of marriage, of family, and the dignity of every human person created in the image and likeness of God.  We owe to Caesar and to our society the voices of the Christian people proclaiming the dignity of workers, care for the sick and the hungry, and compassion for the dying.  We owe to Caesar and to our society the sanctifying presence of the people of God in the midst of the world.  We will change the world and our society by being in it, not by hiding from it.  We owe to Caesar and to our society the radiant glory of the Son of God seen in our lives and heard in our voices.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us be seen and heard.  Amen.

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

Homily for October 12, 2014 (28th Sunday A)

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

The Prophet Isaiah spoke of a feast for all people.  The Lord Jesus spoke of a wedding feast.  Saint Paul wrote about the source of all strength.  Our readings focus today on the invitation of God, the celebration of God, and the power to respond to the invitation.

In our reading from the Gospel we hear the parable of the wedding feast.  The king in the parable had prepared the wedding feast for his son and sent out servants and messengers with the invitation.  The servants and messengers were met with rejection.  Some were met with violence.  The invitation that was freely and generously given was freely and selfishly rejected.  The king extended the invitation to all who could be found.  The king would share the joy of the wedding feast of his son with everyone who would respond to the invitation.  This was the extension of the invitation of God to all peoples.

In our reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah, we hear of the feast for all peoples celebrated on the mountain of God.  On this mountain, the Lord God provides an abundant feast of rich foods and choice wines.  It is the banquet of the Messiah.  It is the banquet that celebrates that death has been conquered and the veil has been lifted.  It is the banquet where forgiveness has been granted, the reproach and the punishment have been removed, and the people cry out in exultation at the glory of God.  On this mountain, the hand of the Lord God feeds his people in abundance.  On that mountain, all who would respond to the invitation of God join in the celebration of God.

At this altar, all who will respond to the invitation of God will join in the celebration of God.  This is the wedding feast of the Son of God.  This is the banquet that celebrates that death has been conquered and the veil has been lifted.  This is the banquet where forgiveness has been granted, the reproach and the punishment have been removed, and we cry out in exultation at the glory of our God.  Not only with the Church on earth, but with angels and archangels, with thrones and dominions, with the cherubim and seraphim, and with all the saints in glory, we cry out Holy, Holy, Holy.  We come to the wedding feast of the Son of God because we have responded to the invitation of God.  We have come to Christ and we celebrate with Christ in the power and the strength of Christ.

Saint Paul reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  In Christ we hear the invitation of the Father.  In the power of Christ we reject every invitation that does not come from the Lord God.  In Christ we reject every invitation of earth, so that we can accept the invitation of Heaven. In Christ, we receive our wedding garment.  We received our wedding garment at our baptism, with the instruction to bring it unstained to the wedding feast of heaven.  We cleanse our wedding garment in the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Communion.  Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ we receive the invitation of the Father.  Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ we accept the invitation of the Father. 

We have come to the holy mountain at the invitation of God.  In his goodness he has called us to wedding feast of his Son.  He has given us our wedding garment.  Dear brothers and sisters, let us enter the feast.  Amen.

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

Homily for October 5, 2014 (27th Sunday A)

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

Today is the third consecutive Sunday when we have heard a parable about a vineyard.  Two weeks ago, we heard of the laborers who were hired at different times throughout the day.  We heard of the generosity of the master and the privilege and rewards of serving in the vineyard.  Last week we heard of the two sons who were invited by their father to go and work in his vineyard.  One of the sons was obedient and one of the sons was not.  Last week we were invited to ponder our response to the invitation of the Lord.  On this Sunday, in the final parable of the vineyard, the Lord invites us to harvest the fruits and account for our stewardship of the vineyard.

The prophet Isaiah and the Lord Jesus both express to us the care with which the Lord tends the vineyard.  The Lord provides for the protection of the vineyard.  The Lord sends laborers into the vineyard to care for its growth, and the Lord expects a harvest at the proper time.  The vineyard was entrusted to stewards.  Their responsibility was to care for the vineyard on behalf of the owner and provide the owner with the harvest.  The stewards in our parable today forgot that they were stewards, not owners.  When the owner sent messengers for the harvest, the stewards rejected, stoned and killed one of them.  When the owner sent more messengers they were treated the same way.  The stewards wanted to keep the harvest for themselves.  Finally the owner of the vineyard, believing that the stewards would respect his son, sent his son to the vineyard.  The stewards killed the son because he was the heir of the vineyard of his father.  They did not kill him because they wanted to keep the harvest.  They killed the son because they wanted to keep the vineyard.  They forgot that they were stewards, not owners.

This final parable of the vineyard summarizes for us the history of salvation.  The precious vineyard is the creation of the Lord.  The people of the world are the stewards.  The messengers are the judges and the prophets.  The son who dies at the hands of the unjust stewards is the Lord Jesus.  The parable summarizes the past.

And yet, my brothers and sisters, this parable speaks of the present time as well.  We are part of the vineyard of the Lord.  In fact, each of us, each of our lives is a precious vineyard of the Lord.  Each of us was created from the infinite love of the Father.  We were claimed by the Son in the waters of baptism, and anointed by the Holy Spirit.  We have been made the stewards of creation and entrusted with the gifts of his grace for our salvation and for the building up of his kingdom.  We desire to be good stewards.  Therefore, my brothers and sisters, we must heed the message of the law and the prophets.  We must receive the Son with reverence, joy and thanksgiving.  This means for each of us that we must constantly be attentive to the vineyard of our own soul.  We are called each day to remove the weeds and anything that is harmful from our lives so that we can offer an abundant and fruitful harvest to the Lord.  We are invited each Sunday to listen attentively to the words of the prophets, apostles, and the Lord himself.  We are invited to follow the instruction of Saint Paul and set our minds on what is gracious, pure, just, and holy.  Setting our minds and hearts on these things and seeking to welcome the message of the Lord, we will be formed as good stewards of the vineyard.

As we celebrate this Eucharist today, we ask for the grace to remember that the Lord has made us stewards of his gifts.  We seek to remove from the vineyard of our lives anything that is harmful.  And we ask for the grace to receive the Son of God with gladness and offer to him an abundant harvest. Amen.   

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

Homily for September 28, 2014 (26th Sunday A)

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

There were two sons in our reading from the Gospel today.  One of them changed his mind and chose to be disobedient to his father. The other son changed his mind and chose to be obedient to his father.  In the reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians, the Lord Jesus reveals the mind of the Father and changes everything.

Our reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel and our reading from the Gospel of Matthew focus on our human capacity to make a choice.  We have been created with the awesome power to make a choice.  God has created us in freedom.  We are capable of responding to the invitation of God.  We can walk toward him at his call. We can walk on the path that leads us to the Promised Land. We can enjoy with the prophets the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.  And we are capable of rejecting the invitation of God.  We can walk away from him at his call.  We can run on the path that leads to exile.  We are capable of experiencing, even now, the desolation and isolation of those who eternally reject the everlasting love of the Lord God.

The Lord God, for his part, has made his choice.  He has loved us from all eternity. He has called us from the foundation of the world. God has invited us, like the father in the parable, to spend our day in his vineyard.  The choice of God is clear.  In his will, He has chosen us.  He invites us to choose His will.

In the Letter to the Philippians, we hear that the Lord Jesus embraces the will of the Father in humility and obedience.  The Lord Jesus claims no privileged for himself.  His life is complete and total gift to the Father. He embraces the road of humility that leads from the heights of heaven to the Virgin’s womb.  From the poverty of the manger, the simplicity of Nazareth, and to the isolation of Calvary, the Lord Jesus lives in obedience in the vineyard of the Father. The Lord Jesus shows us that true power and authority is revealed in obedience and humility. The greatest act of power of the Lord Jesus is freely choosing the will of the Father. 

God, our loving Father, has made his choice.  The Lord Jesus, our Blessed Redeemer, has made his choice.  The invitation is clear.  The path is marked by the footprints of the Savior.  Let us go, dear brothers and sisters, to the vineyard of the Father.  Amen.

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

Homily for September 21, 2014 (25th Sunday A)

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

Today the prophet Isaiah invites us to seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near.  We are invited to seek the Lord who is generous in forgiving and full of mercy.  From the prophet Isaiah, we hear that we are the ones who are called to seek.

In the Gospel today the Lord Jesus tells us the parable of the landowner who seeks laborers for his vineyard.  Here it is not the servants who are called to seek, but the master who is seeking for them.  The master never gives up his search for laborers for his vineyard.  He called them in the early hours of the morning to go into the vineyard and promised them the usual daily wage.  He called them in the middle of the morning, and promised them a just wage.  He called them in the middle of the day, in the middle of the afternoon, and even in the last hour of the working day.  Each laborer was given the same command, “Go into my vineyard,” and each laborer was promised a just payment.  And when the day of work was ended, the laborers who were the last ones to be hired were the first ones to be paid.  Those who worked in the vineyard for only an hour were paid the usual daily wage.  The payment that they received was far greater than the work that they had accomplished.  Each laborer in turn received the usual daily wage until all had been paid.  Those who had worked the full day were paid as had been agreed, but they resented the generosity of the master in paying all the workers equally.  Essentially, my brothers and sisters, those who had agreed for the usual daily wage, who were paid the usual daily wage, and labored the whole day in the vineyard of the landowner, missed the point.

The apostle Paul, however, did not miss the point.  A devout son of the people of Israel, a student of the law, Paul was a man who had sought the Lord while he may be found.  Formerly he had been a persecutor of the followers of Jesus, but after encountering Jesus on the road and hearing his call, Paul’s life was forever changed.  The last apostle to be called directly by the Lord Jesus tells us today in the letter to the Philippians that “life is Christ.”  We hear that the reward at the end of this life, when the day of work is over, is to be with Christ.  Paul understood what the laborers in the vineyard did not.  The reward was not the payment.  The reward was the relationship with the master.  From the early hours of the morning, they had been privileged to serve in the vineyard of the master.  He had called them unto himself and sent them to do his work.  They forgot the joy of a life spent in the service of the Lord.  They even missed that at the end of the day, the master called one of them, “My friend.”  The apostle Paul never forgot that joy.  Paul never forgot that Jesus had called him, as he called all the apostles, his friend.  Through trials and tribulations, persecutions and imprisonments, Paul never forgot that the life of greatest joy and the life of greatest meaning is the life spent in the vineyard of the Lord.

We have come here today to seek the Lord where he has promised to be found.  In the scriptures proclaimed, in the gathered community of the baptized, in the one though unworthy set apart as his priest, and most especially in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, the Lord Jesus has promised to be found.  We have come here today because at whatever hour of our lives we are currently in, and that is known to God alone, we have heard the call of the Lord and have gone into the vineyard.  Let us labor in the vineyard of the Lord, in whatever way he has called us and at whatever time he has called us.

As we celebrate the Eucharist today, let us be attentive to the call of the Lord to labor in his vineyard.  Let us remember that Jesus Christ himself is the reward of our labors in his name.  And let us today be thankful, for our Lord is near, our Lord is very near, to all who call upon him and he has called us his friends. Amen.

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

Homily for September 14, 2014 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross)

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

Almost seventeen hundred years ago, Helena was on a search in Jerusalem.  The mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine had become a devout Christian, and she was on a search.  Helena was looking through the rubble and debris on Mount Calvary, searching for the Cross of the Savior of the World.  On a September day in 326, she found three crosses.  The sick people in Jerusalem were brought to Calvary and were touched with each of the crosses.  The cross that brought healing was recognized as the True Cross of Jesus Christ.  In their encounter with the cross of Christ, they found healing.

Almost thirteen years ago, on another September morning, Frank Silecchia was on a search.  Looking amidst the rubble and debris of the World Trade Center in the middle of September 2001, he found two metal beams that were bound together.  On that September day, he found the cross at Ground Zero.  In the face of a most brutal and cowardly terrorist attack, in the presence of the heroic deeds of firefighters and police officers and port authority officers and priests and ordinary people who did extraordinary things, the cross shined through.  In their encounter with the cross of Christ, they found hope.

Our lives have been blessed by the sign of the cross of Christ.  We were claimed in baptism by the sign of the cross.  We were confirmed with the Chrism in the sign of the cross.  We are absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation with the sign of the cross.  We are blessed with the sign of the cross at each Mass and we will be commended to the house of the Father with the sign of the Cross.  The cross of Christ our Savior surrounds us in the sacraments and in our worship.

But the cross of Christ is present in the rest of our lives as well.  This encounter with the cross is often received with difficulty.  Sometimes we are invited to come closer to the cross of our Redeemer and share in his sufferings.  There is the cross of physical illness.  There is the cross of sadness in the earthly loss of a loved one.  There is the cross of anguish in our hearts over our family members who no longer practice the faith.  There is the cross of mental illness and addictions.  There is the cross of Christ in the sufferings of our lives.

And the cross shall be our glory.

Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Today we celebrate that the cross which surrounds us, the cross which gives us healing and hope, and the cross that we bear, is a sign of victory.  The cross that lifted the Lord Jesus up from the earth is the throne of triumph from which he draws all people to himself.  The cross is the place of his victory over sin, death and the devil.  Beneath the shadow of a tree, our first parents ate the fruit of disobedience.  Beneath the shadow of the tree of the cross we receive the blood and water of mercy flowing from the pierced side of the Son of God.  By his death and glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ has claimed the cross as the place of his triumph.  By his death and glorious resurrection, and by our participation in his death and glorious resurrection, Jesus Christ has claimed our cross as the place of his triumph.  We have a share in his cross.  We have a share in his victory.

The Lord Jesus promised that when he was lifted up from the earth, like the bronze serpent in the desert was lifted up, that he would draw all people to himself.  The Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross on Calvary, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, drawing all people to himself.  Every day in the celebration of the Mass, the Lord Jesus is lifted up, and we hear, “Behold the Lamb of God; Behold him who takes away the sins of the world; Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.”

The Lord Jesus has invited us to draw near. He has invited us to bring our crosses to his.  Sharing in his cross, let us go to Him that we might share in his victory forever.

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

Homily for September 11th

This homily was preached on September 11, 2011, the 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, NC    

I have to admit that I was disappointed when I looked at the readings for this Sunday’s Mass.  I was hoping for something different.  Perhaps one of the great stories from the Old Testament of God winning the victory for his chosen people, the smiting of foes, the conquering of the enemy, would have spoken more to me on this weekend.  Even after ten years, and most of those spent in priestly formation and ministry, I’m still angry.  Deep down in a secluded part of my heart and soul, there is still that desire for vengeance.  It’s not justice that I want, that is the punishment of the guilty.  It is not the legitimate protection of our nation and her people.  It’s vengeance, the desire for the enemy to suffer as we have suffered, and maybe even a little hatred, that has kept a home.  Maybe, my brothers and sisters, you and I share that today.  Maybe, just maybe, as we mark the passage of ten years since our nation was the victim of a most brutal and cowardly terrorist attack, a few of us still keep a space for vengeance and hatred in our hearts.

But the Lord calls us to something different.

We read in the wisdom of Sirach that wrath and anger are hateful things, and that the sinner holds them tight.  We hear that those who are vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance.  And we are even posed with the question, “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?”  To let go of the anger and hatred, having felt it so profoundly, held it so very tightly, and even nourished it so carefully is so much to ask.  Yet that is what the Lord has called us to do.  We have not been asked to forget what happened.  We have not been asked to declare that which is manifestly evil to be good.  And we have not been asked to forsake our desire for justice.  What we have been asked, and what the Lord calls us to, is to allow our hearts and souls to be freed from the captivity that hatred and anger and vengeance create in us.  We are called to take the feelings and the pains that are deep within us, and offer them in prayer for those who lost their lives, those who lost their families and for the country that lost whatever remained of its innocence on that sunny September morning ten years ago.

And then the Lord Jesus asks even more of us.

In the reading from the Gospel today, Peter poses a question to Jesus: “Lord, if my brother sins against me how often must I forgive him?”  In hearing this question that Peter asks, we must remember that among the Twelve that there are two sets of brothers, James and John, Peter and Andrew.  This is not a question of forgiving someone we do not know, or those we know by only their names and actions.  This is not even a question about forgiving a neighbor.  This is about forgiving a brother or sister, someone with whom we share our very lives.  Our desire to forgive and the mercy that we show cannot remain anonymous.  We must extend that mercy to those closest to us, those who because of their closeness to us have the ability to hurt us the most.  We forgive and seek to forgive not so much because we want to, but because the Lord has asked it, and especially because we have known and experienced his forgiveness.  Holding on tightly to hurts old and new, nourishing and sustaining grudges deep within our hearts, not realizing of course that these are not trophies but wounds that only poison us, these things the Lord invites us to give up and give to him.

As we celebrate this Eucharist today we gather as a people who have known suffering and pain.  More importantly we gather as a people who have known and experienced the Father’s mercy.  Let us ask for the grace today to place any vengeance or hatred in our hearts on the Altar of Sacrifice.  Let us turn to the Heart of Jesus filled with compassion for us, and ask for the grace to be compassionate and forgiving to others.  And let us declare with our very lives that indeed the Lord is kind and merciful.  Amen. 

Preached at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Salisbury, NC