Homily for May 18, 2013 (Vigil of Pentecost)

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

In the celebration of the vigil for Pentecost, we await the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The desire of our hearts is to experience the presence and power of the Spirit of the Living God.

Like the people of Babel we desire to be united and to see heaven.  Unlike the people of Babel, we know that we are not the ones who build the city of God.  God will build his city and God will pour out the Spirit of unity.

Like the Israelites we desire to listen to the voice of the Lord and keep his covenant.  We rejoice in the presence of God among his people.

With the prophet Ezekiel we desire to receive the Spirit of the Lord that will bring us to life.  We desire to hear the word of the Lord that will give us hope.  We desire to hear the voice of the Lord that will call those who are dead in sin to life in Christ Jesus.

With the prophet Joel, we desire to receive the Spirit of the Lord.  We desire to have a vision of the Kingdom and experience the wonders of the power of God.

With Saint Paul, we beg the Holy Spirit to intercede for us.  We beg the Holy Spirit to pray within us.  We beg the Holy Spirit to make each of us a temple for the glory of the Father.  We desire to receive the Holy Spirit who is the river of life-giving water.

As the Spirit descended upon the apostles, we invite the Spirit to descend upon us.  May the Holy Spirit transform us and fill us, so that we can live in the power and presence of God.  Amen.

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

Homily for May 12, 2013 (Ascension of the Lord C)

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

More than fifty years ago, my grandparents moved from Wisconsin to North Carolina.  Before the family moved, my grandparents made the long drive and searched for a house.  Since they did not find one to their liking, they made the long drive back to Wisconsin, and they agreed that my grandfather would find a house while he was working in North Carolina.  My grandmother, however, gave one very clear instruction about the house.  She said to my grandfather, “I do not care what the house looks like, just get me a nice kitchen.”  That was the end of the discussion.  The next time my grandmother came to North Carolina, she and my mother and my uncles, moved into the house where my grandmother would spend forty-one of the happiest years of her life.  She had never seen the house before, but she was happy, because her home had been prepared by one who loved her.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Forty days after his resurrection, the Lord Jesus returns to the glory of the Father.  Entering the temple of the heavenly glory, the Lord Jesus continues to bear the marks of his passion, but now his wounds are trophies of victory.  Every wound and every suffering is now radiant in the splendor of the Kingdom. Sin and death have been conquered by the blood of his cross, and now the Lord Jesus returns to the Father.  He goes to prepare a place for us.  And though he has returned to the glory of the Father, he has promised to remain with us always.  The Lord Jesus has promised to be present to us until the end of the world.

With the ascension of the Lord Jesus, the power and presence of Christ’s earthly ministry passes into the sacraments.  The promise of the Lord Jesus to remain with his disciples always is fulfilled through his presence in the sacraments of the Church.  What that means, dear brothers and sisters, is that in every sacramental celebration, we are offered a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.  Like Saint Paul on the road to Damascus, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and like Mary Magdalene at the tomb, each of us is offered an encounter with the Risen Lord.  Our encounter with the Risen Lord is no less real than the encounter of those who walked with him in Jerusalem.  The way that we experience the encounter is different, but the One whom we encounter is the same.  We meet the Lord Jesus in the sacraments, and the Lord Jesus meets us in the sacraments of his Church.

Though each of the sacraments is celebrated in the context of a public liturgical celebration, each of us receives the sacraments individually.  These moments of grace, where God in his love and mercy has promised to act in a particular way, are personal.  One by one we were baptized and one by one we were confirmed.  One by one we are absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and one by one we receive the holy anointing.  One by one we receive the precious body and blood of the Lord in Holy Communion.  The promise of the Lord Jesus which is offered to all of us, is received by each of us.

And the promise of the Lord Jesus which is offered to us in the Sacraments, prepares us for eternal life.  We receive the very life of God as a gift of God in each sacrament.  The life of God dwelling within us during our life on earth prepares us to dwell forever in the life of God in heaven.

My grandfather found a nice kitchen, and my grandmother was happy for many years.  The Lord Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for us, and through his sacraments, the Lord Jesus prepares us for his place.  As we now enter into the worship of heaven, let us welcome the Lord into our souls so that one day he will welcome us into his Kingdom.  Amen. 

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

Homily for May 5, 2013 (6th Easter C)

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

The Easter season is a time of grace and peace.  We have received the good news of the empty tomb and the promise of the mercy of God.  We have meditated on the consequences of our love for the Lord and the consequences of the love that the Lord has for us.  We have rejoiced in being part of the flock of the Good Shepherd and we have embraced our place as beloved children in the kingdom of the Father.  Today our readings draw our focus to the gift of the peace that the Lord offers to us.  The gift of peace, dear brothers and sisters, comes through sacrifice.

In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of one of the major controversies in the early Christian community.  In the earliest days of the Church, we had a mixture of two very different cultures.  There were the Jewish people who knew the law and the prophets, and lived by a strict legal code that included many laws regarding food and eating.  The Gentiles, on the other hand, may have had a background in a pagan religion or a philosophy, but they did not have many laws regarding food or eating.  From time immemorial, Jews and Gentiles did not eat together.  As history has shown us, it is very difficult to form a Christian community when they cannot eat together in friendship.  The solution, prayerfully determined by the apostles and elders, was a compromise.  It was not, however, a compromise of a doctrine, but of a discipline.  Each community would sacrifice something so that the whole body could be at peace.  Peace comes only through sacrifice.

In our reading from the Book of Revelation, we are given a vision of the heavenly city of God.  The holy city of the New Jerusalem is the city of peace.  It gleams with the splendor of God and radiates with the brilliance of precious jewels.  Its walls are built on the heritage of the twelve tribes and its gates are protected by angels.  The foundation stones of the city of God are twelve apostles, and the temple of the city is the Lord God and the Lamb.  The peace of the city of God has come through the sacrifice of the Lamb who lives forever.

In our Gospel reading today we hear from the words of the Lord Jesus at the Last Supper.  Last week we received our new title as children of God and the new commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us.  This week, we hear the promise of the Lord Jesus that when we respond in love to his love, and keep his commandments of love, then the Father and the Son will dwell within us.  Having received the Lord’s love and responded in love, our souls become a fitting dwelling for the Most High God.  Heaven will not only be up, but within.  And the peace of the Kingdom of God, present in the soul of the baptized child of God, comes only from sacrifice.  It is the sacrifice of the Son of God who offers himself on the altar of the Cross.  It is the sacrifice of the disciples of the Lamb of God, who renounce the reign of sin and offer the sacrifice of their worship to God alone.  The gift of the peace of the Lord is given only through sacrifice.  The gift of the peace of the Lord must be received before the community of believers can truly join the holy city.  This is among the reasons why we exchange the sign of peace in the Sacred Liturgy after the sacrifice at the consecration, and before we receive Holy Communion.  Christ alone, through the gift of his sacrifice and through the gift of his apostles, brings us peace.

As we now enter into the mystery of the sacrifice of the Lamb, let us pray for the grace of prayerful discernment as our two cultures grow together in friendship and charity.  Let us place upon the altar our sacrifices so that they will be united to the one sacrifice of the Lamb.  And let us rejoice in the love of the Father and the Son, and share in the gift of peace.  Amen.

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

Homily for April 28, 2013 (5th Easter C)

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

Nearly a year ago, on the second day of May, at about seven in the evening, I learned something new.  In the course of a very brief conversation, I learned that I would be receiving several new things.  Among them would be a new address, a new title, many new responsibilities, and a new family.  I can say that with the new address, the new title, the new responsibilities and the new family have come many, many new joys.

Today in our readings we hear about new things.  In our reading from the book of Revelation we hear about a new heaven and a new earth.  The former heaven and the former earth had passed away and all creation had been made new.  We hear about the New Jerusalem, the holy city of the living God.  We hear of the place where God will dwell among his people, and the holy people will dwell in their God.  This was the announcement of a new relationship because the holy city is adorned and reverenced and cherished as the Bride of the Son of God.  This was the announcement of a new joy because every tear will be wiped away and every sorrow and every pain and even death will pass away.  This is the announcement that Christ makes all things new.

In our reading from the Gospel of John today, we receive a new title and a new commandment.  The passage from the Gospel that we hear is not one of the appearances of the Risen Lord.  Today, we hear some of the words of the Lord Jesus from the Last Supper.  At the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus calls the disciples his children.  This is the new title that the disciples receive, and we, with those disciples, receive this title too.  Calling us children is not to demean us, but to assure us.  Children love without limits and without conditions and without fear.  Children clearly express their needs, their desires, and their dependence.  This is what the Lord Jesus invites us to when he calls us children.  We have been claimed and invited into a relationship with the Lord Jesus and with his God and Father where we are free to love him without limits and without conditions and without fear.  The unconditional love of Christ sets us free to express our needs and our desires and our dependence to him.

The new commandment that we receive flows from our relationship with him.  We are invited and commanded to love one another as the Lord Jesus has loved us.  Our love for each other is to be a reflection of his love for us.  As disciples of the Lord Jesus we have been the recipients of the love that is a total gift.  In loving us, the Lord Jesus has given us everything that is his.  He has shared with us the words that he has received from the Father.  He has shared with us his own relationship with the Father, just as he is the Beloved Son we are also the beloved children.  He has shared with us his sufferings and he shares with us his body and his blood.  And he offers to share with us his glory.  Everything that the Lord Jesus has received from the Father, he gives in loving generosity to his disciples.  Everything that Lord Jesus has given in loving generosity to his disciples, the disciples are invited and commanded to share with each other.  We are called to love as the Lord Jesus loves, because we have first been loved by the Lord Jesus.

As we now enter into the mystery of the Lord’s love and join in the worship of the New Jerusalem, let us claim our title as beloved children of the Lord.  Let us receive the love of the Lord with faith and confidence and trust.  And let us ask for the grace to be transformed by the Lord’s love, that with all things, we ourselves will be made new.  Amen.   

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

Homily for April 21, 2013 (4th Easter C)

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

On the fourth Sunday of the Easter Season, we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday.  Traditionally, on this Sunday, the Pope ordains new priests for the Diocese of Rome and invites the whole world to pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood.  When we pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, we are praying that the men whom the Father is calling will respond with joyful generosity.  We are praying that those who have heard the call of the Father will accept the invitation to share in the priesthood of the Son.  The priesthood of the Lord Jesus is the ministry of the Good Shepherd.

In our brief reading from the Gospel of John today, we hear a summary of the ministry of the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd speaks to the flock, because they hear his voice.  The Good Shepherd knows the flock and he recognizes each of them.  The Good Shepherd leads the flock, because they follow him.  And the Good Shepherd gives to the flock eternal life.  He speaks and he knows and he leads and he gives.

In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of the preaching of Paul and Barnabas in the city of Antioch.  As they did in each city during their missionary journey, they first preached in the synagogue.  And in each city, after they were rejected in the synagogue, they preached the good news of salvation and the love of God for all people to the Gentiles.  The preaching of Paul and Barnabas, the preaching of Peter and the other apostles, the preaching of the Pope and the Bishop and the preaching of your pastor, is to be an echo of the voice of the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd knows the members of his flock.  He recognizes that the members of the flock were given to him by the Father.  Each member of the flock is a gift of the Father to the Son, and the Son knows us, and loves us, and gives us back to the Father.  Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus recognizes each of us as the precious gift.  He calls us to stand with him in the white robes of our baptismal dignity and hold the palm branches of our sufferings and sacrifices.  The Good Shepherd leads us to the throne of God and to the Temple of the heavenly glory.  He washes us to be clean in his own blood.  He leads us to the springs of life-giving waters and he wipes away every tear from our eyes.  The Good Shepherd leads the flock to worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

And the Good Shepherd gives eternal life to the members of his flock.  He gives eternal life to those who are willing to hear his voice.  He gives eternal life to those who want to be recognized as members of the flock.  Christ will invite you, but he will not force you.  The eyes of the Good Shepherd look upon each of you with a love that willingly suffers the indignity of the manger and the isolation of the cross.  Christ offers you eternal life on a future day when he calls you unto himself.  Christ offers you a share in eternal life today in the sacraments that he gave to his Church.  In every sacrament we encounter the Risen Lord.  In every sacrament, he speaks to each of us.  He knows and he recognizes each of us.  He leads each of us to his open heart, and he gives his very life, his eternal life, to each of us.

As we now approach the throne of the Lamb of God, let us listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd.  Let us follow him to the temple of the Father’s glory.  And let us give ourselves completely and generously to the Lord Jesus, as he gives himself completely and generously to us.  Amen.    

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

Homily for April 14, 2013 (3rd Easter C)

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

It was a simple and direct conversation, and it had consequences. 
Peter, do you love me?  Lord you know that I love you.  Feed my lambs. 
Peter, do you love me?  Lord you know that I love you.  Tend my sheep.

Peter, do you love me?  Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.  Feed my sheep.

Love has consequences.

For the disciples in our reading from the book of Acts, the love that they professed for the Lord Jesus had consequences.  Their love for the Lord Jesus led them to be arrested, imprisoned, and ordered by the authorities not to speak in the name of Jesus.  The disciples were even filled with joy because they had been found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name.  The consequence of their love for Christ was persecution and suffering.

In our reading from the book of Revelation, we encounter the splendor of heavenly worship.  The choirs of angels, and the martyrs, and every creature in heaven and on earth are impelled by their love for God to praise his glory and fall down in worship.  They cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.”  The consequence of their love is humble worship and adoration.

And then, there is Simon Peter.  Love has consequences for him as well.  After a life spent fishing on the water, Simon the Fisherman would now become Peter the Shepherd.  He had said to the Lord Jesus when they first met, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”  At the Last Supper, Peter had promised the Lord Jesus, that even if the others abandoned him, that Peter would lay down his life with the Lord.  And yet, only hours later, before the cock crowed, Peter denied the Lord three times.  Today we hear the beautiful example of the Lord’s forgiveness and restoration.  Three times Peter denied him.  Now, three times the Lord invited his profession of love.  And each time that Peter declared his love for the Lord Jesus, the response came: Feed and tend my sheep.  Peter’s love for the Lord Jesus had consequences.

And, dear brothers and sisters, the love that we profess for the Lord has consequences too.  We are called to walk in love as Christ loved us.  We are invited to be a loving offering to the Loving Father.  Our lofty vocation is to be a living sacrifice of praise, a witness to the glory that is to be revealed, and a sign of Christ’s love.  That is our baptismal call.  And all of us, like those early disciples in the book of Acts, will be rejected and suffer as we bear witness to the love of Christ.  Whether it is a culture that mocks us, or family and friends who reject us, we ask the Lord Jesus to help us to be joyful as we suffer for the sake of the name.  Today, we come to this Church, and we join with the saints and angels of heaven and offer our humble worship and adoration.  Our love for the Lord Jesus has consequences.

But more importantly, dear brothers and sisters, the love that God has for us has consequences.  We were created from the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We were made in the very image and likeness of our creator.  And though we had fallen into sin, the Father sent the Son to be our Redeemer.  The Lord Jesus showed us how to live and how to love.  He offered himself on a cross.  He forgave Peter and he offers forgiveness to us as well. 

As he fed the disciples on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, each day he is made present on the Altar to feed us and to strengthen us.  The love that the Father has for us, shown to us in the Lord Jesus, offers us forgiveness, strength and eternal life.  As we join in the worship of heaven let us ask for the grace to fearlessly profess our love for the Lord.  Let us recognize and embrace the consequences of our love for the Lord, and the consequences of the Lord’s love for us.  And let us listen carefully, and hear the voice of the Lord that says to each of us, “My child, you know that I love you.”  Amen. 

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

Homily for April 7, 2013 (Divine Mercy Sunday)

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

On Easter Sunday, we saw the empty tomb.  On this day, we see and we hear the Risen Lord.  What will he say to his disciples?  What will he say to his closest friends who abandoned the Lord in the hour of his suffering and death?  What will he say to us, who promise day after day and Sunday after Sunday, to live our lives as a reflection of his holy life?  What will he say?

There are many things that the Lord Jesus could have said to his disciples.  He could have asked the disciples where they were on Friday.  He could have expressed his feeling of abandonment.  The Lord Jesus could have said, “I am disappointed in you.”  The Lord Jesus would have been perfectly justified in saying all of these things to the disciples.  And yet, his words are simple, and they are powerful.  Looking with love on the disciples who were gathered together, the Lord Jesus said, “Peace be with you.”

The first gift of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the gift of his peace.  This is the peace that the world cannot give.  This is the peace that passes all understanding.  This is the peace, which Pope Francis says, we should never lose.  The second gift of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a special gift given to the apostles.  Breathing on the apostles, he gives them the Holy Spirit and says “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”  Not only has the Lord forgiven the apostles their sins and their guilt, but the Lord Jesus gives them a share in his own ministry of reconciliation.  And what the Lord Jesus shared with his apostles on the evening of his resurrection, they have shared to every generation through the ministry of priests.  It is not so much a power, as it is a privilege and a sacred responsibility, to extend the mercy of Christ to the repentant sinner and restore a lost sheep to the flock.  To be a priest is to have known the mercy of God.  To be a priest is to share and to declare the mercy of God.  On the evening of the resurrection, the Lord Jesus made his apostles ambassadors and agents of his mercy.

Today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday.  Based, in part, on the private revelations of the Lord Jesus to Saint Faustina, on this day we celebrate the true depths of the mercy of God.  We celebrate the invitation of the Lord to Thomas and the invitation to us, to enter into the sacred wounds of the Lord Jesus.  There, in the opened heart of the Savior, will we find healing, peace, forgiveness and mercy.  And there, in the opened door of the confessional, in the tribunal of the mercy of God, will we find healing, peace, forgiveness and mercy.

This Sunday concludes our celebration of the octave of Easter.  This means that according to the Liturgy, next Monday is the second day of the Easter season.  Every day within an octave is considered to be the same day as the feast day.  Each day of this past week we have really been celebrating Easter Day.  So this Sunday is, in a real sense, the twilight of the day of Easter.  And so as the hours fade from that glorious moment, when very early in the morning the tomb was found empty, we bring this great day to its conclusion.  What began with the proclamation of the resurrection, ends with the promise of mercy.  

Peace be with you.  Amen.

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