Homily for July 26, 2015 (17th Sunday B)

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

It was more than a meal on the side of the mountain.  It was so much more than a meal.  The Lord Jesus fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish.  It was more than a meal on the side of the mountain.  It was so much more than a meal.

The people who followed Jesus to that mountain followed him for different reasons.  Some followed him because they were curious.  Many followed him because they were seeking a cure for their sickness.  Some followed Jesus because he had directly called them to follow him.  And some followed him because there might be free food.  There were many different reasons that people followed Jesus.  But whatever their reason for following, they received more than a meal on the side of the mountain.  On the side of the mountain they encountered the God who fed them with his own hands.

And with five loaves and two fish, and the blessing of the Lord Jesus, five thousand men were fed.  Five thousand men were fed with a meal that was prepared for five.  It was a miracle of abundance.  Not only were each of the five thousand fed, but there were twelve baskets of fragments left over after the meal.  There were twelve baskets of fragments remaining after the meal.  There were twelve baskets of fragments that were gathered by the apostles.  The Lord Jesus was very concerned about the fragments that remained so that nothing would be lost.  Everything that the Lord provided was to be protected, cared for, and shared.  The Lord Jesus instructed his disciples to gather the fragments so that every blessing of the Lord would be received.  The fragments are precious to the Lord Jesus, and it’s the job of the disciples to gather the fragments.

These fragments are blessed by the Lord Jesus.  In fact, these fragments are the result of a miracle.  And the disciples of Jesus are told to gather the fragments.  This is the sacred task entrusted by the Lord to the disciples.  It is their responsibility to gather the fragments.

And it is our responsibility to gather the fragments.  As disciples of the Lord Jesus, it is our responsibility to gather the fragments.  But the fragments that we gather, the fruit of creation and the blessing of God, are the baptized children of God who no longer practice the faith.  The fragments, which are so precious to the Lord, are our children and godchildren, our brothers and sisters, our friends and our neighbors, who no longer join us for the celebration of the miracle of the Eucharist.  These are the fragments that the Lord calls us to gather.  These are the precious ones who have once received the blessing of Jesus Christ and need to be gathered together by the loving hands of the disciples.

Strengthened by the Eucharist and commanded by the Lord, let us together gather the precious fragments in our community and bring them to the Kingdom of God.

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

Homily for July 5, 2015 (14th Sunday B)

Homily for June 28, 2015 (13th Sunday B)

Homily for May 17, 2015 (Ascension of the Lord)

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

The Ascension of Jesus is my favorite feast. For some people, Christmas is their favorite feast. For others, it is Easter, or Pentecost, or one of the feasts of Mary. But for me, it is the Ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven. This is my favorite feast.

With the Ascension of Jesus, I have a place in heaven. I have access to the kingdom of the Father. With the Ascension of the Lord Jesus, we have a place in heaven. We have access to the Kingdom of the Father.

On the twenty-fifth of March each year we celebrate the Annunciation. On that day we remember the message of the Angel Gabriel to Mary. We remember that Mary says yes to the invitation of the Lord. We remember that the Word became flesh in her womb. Divinity and humanity are perfectly united in the womb of the Virgin of Nazareth. Jesus is perfectly united with the Father and perfectly united with us. And when Jesus ascends to the glory of the Father, when the days of his earthly ministry were complete, the humanity of Jesus enters into heaven. Humanity and divinity are present in the Kingdom of the Father. Jesus goes before us to prepare a place for us. We can have a place in heaven because the Lord Jesus has ascended to the Father.

And we have access to the Kingdom of the Father because Jesus has ascended into heaven. Two of my favorite saints, Saint Ambrose and Saint Leo, preach about this mystery. They say that with the ascension of Jesus, the power of the earthly ministry of Jesus now passes into the sacraments of the Church. The power and the presence of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ remain with us and we have access to heaven. The power of the blessing of Jesus as he ascends to the Father is the same power that was extended to me by the imposition of apostolic hands. It is the same power that touched each of you in the waters of baptism. It is the power that makes marriage holy. It is the power that extends mercy. It is the power that heals the sick. It is the same power that sends us forth, from generation to generation, with the message of the Good News. It is the power that makes sinners into saints. We have access to this power in the sacraments. We have access to the Kingdom of Heaven because the Lord Jesus has ascended to the Father.

The Lord Jesus ascends to the Father and he prepares a place in the Kingdom for you and for me. Through the power of the sacraments which Jesus gave to his Church, he prepares you and me for a place in his Kingdom.

This is my favorite feast day. The Lord Jesus ascends into heaven. Where he has gone, we hope to follow. Amen.

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

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Homily for May 10, 2015 (6th Easter B)

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Homily for May 3, 2015 (5th Easter B)

Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. If we remain in him we will bear much fruit.

Homily for April 26, 2015 (4th Easter B)

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

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are. What we shall be has not yet been revealed, but we know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

There are always so many things to say. There are always so many things to think about. There are always some many things that take up our time. And there are always so many things that I could preach about each week. There are always so many things.

We have three powerful readings today. We have three powerful proclamations of the Word of God to us today. There are so many things that we could think about, that we could talk about, and that we could pray about. But dear brothers and sisters, there is really only one thing. There has always been only one thing. And for that matter, there will always only be one thing: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are.

God our Father has loved us and he continues to pour out his love for us. Through the power of his love he invites us closer to him, both in this life and in the life in the kingdom that never ends. He has made us his children in Christ Jesus. Through the Sacrament of Baptism we were claimed for Christ our Savior by the sign of his holy cross. We were reborn in the waters of the font, cleansed of original sin, and made members of the flock of the Good Shepherd. This is our Christian dignity. This is our first and fundamental vocation: to be children of God and sheep of his flock.

We can see the love the Father has bestowed on us when we look to Jesus the Good Shepherd. Our Lord tells us in the Gospel that he is the Good Shepherd. He knows the sheep of his flock and the sheep of his flock know him. Think about that for a moment, dear brothers and sisters. Think for a moment about what that statement really means. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Eternal Father, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the one who healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead, suffered, died and rose again, knows and loves YOU. And I do not mean you in the plural sense, you individually. Just like Jesus called Mary Magdalene by name, and he called us by name in the waters of baptism, he loves us by name, individually. The heart of the Good Shepherd is so filled with love that what he has done for all of us, he would have lovingly and willingly done for each of us. Jesus loves us, and he knows us better than anyone else. Jesus knows our gifts, because he gave them. But he also knows our weaknesses. He knows our wounds, and he knows our sins, and he continues to love us and to call us closer to himself.

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Amen.

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