Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C

The readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020622.cfm

Being a Christian is about mission.  

It’s about sharing our faith with others.

It means responding to the call of Christ, no matter how unworthy we may feel.  

I saw a cartoon this week that spoke to this point.  

It was like that footprints prayer, “See the two sets of footprints, this is where you walked with me; See the one set of footprints, this is where I carried you.”

I think we’ve all heard this prayer and it’s very powerful.  

But in this cartoon, Jesus was pointing to the sand saying “Where you see one set of footprints is where I carried you…”  

And then Jesus, pointing to another place in the sand says, “that long groove is where I dragged you kicking and screaming.”

I loved that.  And to me, it spoke to the lengths that Jesus goes to in order to get us to answer His call.

And make no mistake, He calls all of us, no matter how unworthy we may feel.

My wife, Karen and I were talking earlier this week about negative self talk.  

I don’t know about you, but the voices in my head can be pretty loud at times.   Maybe you are the same.

But, if we think we aren’t enough to answer the call of God, we are in good company at this very Mass.

In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah, one of the great prophets, whose words foreshadowed the coming of the messiah, some 700 years before Jesus came, responds to the call by saying, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips.”

In the New Testament reading, St. Paul, a great example of conversion in the Bible, a man who goes from persecutor of the Church to world traveling apostle and evangelist says “For I am the least, not fit to be called an apostle.”

And in the Gospel, Peter, who would ultimately become our first pope responds to Jesus with “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

Thinking we are unworthy to answer God’s call is not unique.  

In fact, it’s likely a requirement.

 

Jesus invites Peter, just as he invites each of us to join His mission of proclaiming God’s kingdom and inviting women and men to eternal life.

Regardless of how unworthy we feel, God doesn’t give up on us.  

He keeps coming at us, because He sees what we don’t see.

Something made us be here today.

Something made us believe it’s worth the investment of time and energy to follow Jesus.

It may not have been a miraculous catch of fish.  

Maybe it was that on our own we caught nothing.  

For Peter and the fisherman this huge catch nearly sank their boats. 

And this came after they struggled all night and caught nothing on their own.

This was their sign that Jesus was real and was sent by God.  

What signs have we had in our lives?

Have we struggled with nothing to show, then had a life-changing experience that we knew in our core was not because of us, but that was totally God? 

What difference has our relationship with Jesus made in our life?

What makes us feel most unworthy and keeps us from more fully answering God’s call?

What keeps us from sharing our faith with others?

We need to talk to others about our faith, our experiences and how Jesus has touched our lives.  

We may just be that thing that gives someone that little bit of a boost to answer God’s call.

Now before I finish up, I’d like to mention a couple of opportunities that we have to share our faith with others.

As you may know, St. Gabriel’s is interested in having as many active ministries available for our parishioners as possible.  

If you feel called and are interested in how you can participate in one of our many ministries, please reach out to the parish office by phone or by email to start that conversation.

Finally, the Diocese has recently announced the next class for the formation of Permanent Deacons beginning in September 2022, that ‘God-willing’ leads to the ordination of a new batch of Deacons to in May 2027.  Online information sessions start this month if you are interested.

I’d be happy to share my experience with you if you think God may be calling you to become a deacon.  

Or even if you want to hear how a really unworthy person can become one.  

I can certainly share first hand experience about that.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C

The readings for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011622.cfm

Today, Saint John tells us about the wedding feast at Cana, where Jesus saves the bridegroom and his family from embarrassment and ridicule with the first miracle of his public ministry.

In this miracle, he turns simple water into wine.  

Several years ago, when I was in formation to become a permanent deacon, my classmates and I used to like to joke about how Jesus’ first public miracle was a “packy run”.

Now, wedding feasts like the one at Cana could last for 7 days straight.  

Wine was an indispensable element of meals and celebration and was used to create a festive atmosphere, not so different, I think, from today.

And Jesus’ participation in this wedding feast is a good reminder for us that Jesus participates in the events of our life.  

Jesus isn’t just for Sundays - He is for every day of the week!

Now, Jesus is not a wedding crasher, Jesus was there by invitation.  And that invitation put Him in the position to turn that water into wine.  No invitation.  No Jesus.  No wine.

Like the wedding feast, our life doesn’t always go as planned.  It’s good to know that when problems do come we can take them to Jesus.  Jesus understands our pain and feels our need.

Jesus is standing by ready with the solution to our problem, but instead of butting in, instead of being a wedding crasher, He waits patiently for our invitation.  

But, do we invite Him in?

Too often, we leave Jesus on the outside looking in.  

Now, Mary plays an important role at this wedding and in the process gives us two things we can do when things go wrong for us.

First, take it to Jesus.  When confronted with a difficulty, Take it to the Lord.

Second, Follow His Commands - do what He tells you.

The lesson for us is clear.  

When problems come - and they do, seemingly faster than our ability to keep up with them, the best thing we can do is is talk to Jesus and listen to what Jesus says to do.  

To Come to Him.  To cast our cares on Him.  To Trust Him.  To do what He tells us.

And if we do these things, Jesus will take the commonplace and deliver the extraordinary.  

Now, it may not be exactly how we think He should do it or when, but God never sleeps and He will move on our situation if we invite Him to do so.

Nobody in the world may understand what we are going through, but Jesus does!  

To everyone else at the wedding, on the outside looking in, it was just wine, but to those closest to Jesus, to those who knew the truth, it was more than just wine, it was a miracle.

And what does this mean to us?

Jesus is tied to the events of our life, if we invite Him in and are close to Him, by talking to Him, through our active prayer life, by staying in communion with Him each day and not just on Sundays.  

Jesus is not just some supernatural being who is totally removed from us.

He cares about the smallest details of our life and He waits for us to call Him into our times of joy and need so that He can minister to us.

What is our need today?  

What is the burden we are carrying?  

Are we having difficulty forgiving?   

Are we caught in a pattern of sin that we don’t know how to get out of?  

Are we losing hope?

Some circumstances may very well be out of our control, but that is why we need to bring them to Jesus.  

Invite Him in.  

Let him turn water into wine in our lives.  

And if we do that and do it consistently and thoughtfully and lovingly, Jesus will not only turn water into wine for us, He will turn it into the highest quality, best wine and he will do so in abundance.

More than a packy run, Christ can and will obtain supernatural gifts for us.   If we only ask Him and do what He tells us.

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent - Year C

The readings for the Third Sunday of Advent - Year C may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121221.cfm

This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, which means, “joyful Sunday”.  

It’s that time of year when clergy wear rose-colored vestments.  

I know that to the untrained eye, it looks pink, but take my word for it - it’s rose and it’s worn to represent the joy and gladness we should all feel because Salvation is coming to light up the world.  

Because, Jesus is coming.  And pink, well, is just pink.  

 

We are joyful this weekend, because our Savior is about to come on Christmas and through His birth, lift up all of humanity and save us from the power of darkness.

A reason for all of us to be joyful, indeed.

That same spirit is reflected in our readings at Holy Mass today.

Both the Prophet Zephaniah and Saint Paul, tell us that we are to “Shout for Joy”, “To be glad and exult with all our heart”, to rejoice because the Lord is near.

But I think it’s important for each of us to reflect on this next point.

Our Lord may be near.  We may be close to Christmas…but are we close to Christ?

We’ve made great progress on our Christmas shopping, menus and holiday plans.  

Our lists are made and we’ve checked them twice, because we are close to Christmas.

But are we close to Christ?

And what does it mean - exactly, to be close to Christ?

I think Saint John helps explain it in the Gospel.

When asked by the crowds, “What should we do?” John the Baptist, moves them to action - to what they can do to make way for the Lord.

I’m not sure any of us want to be lounging around waiting for Jesus to come.   It reminds me of the old bumper sticker that used to read, “God is coming.  Look busy.”

John The Baptist challenges the crowds - and he challenges us.

John The Baptist tells us that to prepare for the coming of Christ, 

to live as faithful disciples, we have to do things that show our closeness to Him, because actions speak louder than words.

This Advent, have we done things that bring us closer to our Lord? 

Have we treated people with charity and justice?

Have we been honest in our dealings?

Do we do for others, especially those who can’t do for us in return?

Do we act out of generosity, with honesty, with integrity and with humility?

Do we have a renewed sense of conversion from sin?

Do we have a greater awareness of God among us?

Do we share what we have and not make a federal case out of it?  

Speaking of which - I was selected for Jury Duty this past week and will serve on a jury in Boston all week next week.  It’s a criminal case.  And Saint John got me thinking.  

If it were a crime to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ,  if our actions were truly necessary to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord - would we have done enough this Advent to be found guilty?

Can anyone tell, by watching us and what we do outside the walls of this Church, that we bear the mark of Christ and are living as His faithful disciples?

I know I have some work to do to meet that standard.

Have we made a good examination of conscience?

Have we made a good sacramental confession or plan to make one before Christmas?

Christmas is less than two weeks away.

Much like John The Baptist, our job is to make way for the Lord by our actions. 

This week, let us pray that we can move from having generous hearts to concrete, unselfish acts of compassion.

Let us pray that our faith and repentance be genuine and move us in ways that make the love, kindness and mercy that our God has for every living person - 

visible and real for everyone we come in contact with.

And if we do that.  

Not only will Christmas be close, 

but we will be close to Christ.

Happy Gaudete Sunday!

Homily for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The readings for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112121.cfm

Next week, we start Advent.

It’s also 34 shopping days until Christmas, in case you were wondering.

But today, we celebrate the last Sunday in this Church Year B with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  

Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with an encyclical, 

a papal letter written in response to growing movements 

trying to remove God from day to day life 

and promote atheism in Mexico, Russia and parts of Europe 

following World War I.  

These were real threats, 

not only to our world, 

but to our Church and all its faithful.  

As governments were taking more power away from the people, 

they were simultaneously pushing God out of our daily lives. 

But, to paraphrase the late Patrick Swayze in one of his movies, “Nobody puts Jesus in a corner.”

The feast of Christ The King was put in place to give Catholics hope, while the world was crumbling around them. 

Christ the King cannot be pushed out.  He is permanent.  He is outside the bounds of time or any earthly control.  

This feast reminds us that Jesus Christ is truth, not the independent fact checkers or social media or the news media or the heads of our political parties.

And while it’s been a hundred years since this feast was instituted, 

there are more powers than ever, trying to divide us, 

continuing to push Jesus Christ and his holy law out of public life 

with the sole goal of separating us from one another 

and separating us from the truth.

Now, we are not perfect.  

The people around us are not perfect.  

We’ve seen enough to know that The Church is not perfect.  

Father is not perfect.  

Well, maybe Father is pretty close to perfect…

but the point is that no matter what barriers, 

excuses or choices we make, 

none of us can prevent Christ 

from carrying out his mission to testify to the truth.

The feast of Christ The King 

reminds us that while governments come and go, 

Christ is 100% King 

beyond the reach of any earthly authority to take away.

Even in the face of suffering, Christ’s reign is undefeated, 

because He and all who are conformed to him testify to the truth.

And what does that really mean?

It means that when our hearts are attuned to God, 

we are on the right path. 

It means that as good citizens of God’s kingdom, 

we are doing things each and every day 

to make the kingdom of God present in this world through our prayers and actions.

Jesus said in today’s gospel that “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Belonging to the truth is to welcome all people with God’s love.

We act on this truth when we welcome strangers into our Church, 

• when we shelter the homeless on cold winter nights, 

• when we say grace out in public before eating our meal at a restaurant, 

• when we live out our Catholic beliefs publicly for all to see based on the truth, 

• not by what we are told is real by the powers of this world that exist to serve their own purposes.  

We belong to the truth when we live our faith as part of who we are.

• The truth is that God is a God of love and that God loves you and me. 

• The truth is that God loves us without hesitation, forgives us unconditionally and acts with overwhelming grace in our lives.

• The truth is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

• The truth is that we must live our lives in ways that testify to that truth, that testify to Jesus.

No matter how hard the world tries to convince us that Jesus is too good to be true. 

The truth is not too good to be true. 

The truth is the truth. 

• We are free to live in God’s love, grace, forgiveness and in the power of the resurrection.

• We are free to love, 

• free to serve 

• and free to live in God’s kingdom - 

because as we celebrate today, 

Jesus is not only the truth, 

He is Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe.

And the good news is you still have 34 day left until Christmas to make a good sacramental confession.

Homily for The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

The readings for The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102421.cfm

Today, Jesus and the crowd are on their way to Jerusalem where they come across a blind beggar sitting by the road, named Bartimaeus.

And when this blind beggar hears that Jesus is passing, he cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Bartimaeus may have been physically blind - but he saw - he saw who Jesus was - even when most around Jesus did not yet understand who Jesus really was.

Now, Jesus had a reputation that preceded Him.    Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus, but when he called out to Him, he did so with insight and understanding.  He cried out to Jesus as someone who could heal him and make him whole.

Now, the crowd and many of the disciples following Jesus, thought Jesus was way too important to stop for a blind beggar and many people told Bartimaeus to be silent.

Imagine that…someone in desperate need, calling out to Jesus,  surrounded by people trying to quiet him down.

I hope none of us would ever prevent someone else from coming to Jesus.  But we might do that sometimes, without recognizing it.

We may not stand in the way of Jesus explicitly, I mean we’re all here in church today.  But as they say, “actions speak louder than words”. 

We’ve all done the right thing by coming to Mass, but thinking about what we’re going to do after Mass or someplace else we’d rather be, or visibly annoyed by a crying baby or chatty child or being outwardly judgey about someone else’s appearance - do we move from “Peace be with you” to “Peace Out” and blow it before we even get out of the parking lot?  

Too many times others who would come to Jesus could say, “If that’s what being a follower of Christ is, I want no part of it.”

To Jesus, Bartimaeus was not a speed bump in the road, he was the reason Jesus had come.

Jesus did not go to Bartimaeus, but rather called him. 

And in much the same way, Jesus calls us.  Do we drop what we are doing immediately and go to Jesus?  

Tossing aside his garment, basically, all he has, this blind beggar rose and went to Jesus.  His garment is what he laid out on the ground for people to toss their scraps into. His garment is what kept him warm at night. His garment was everything he had.  But nothing was going to stand between him and Jesus. 

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  To which the blind man answered, “Master, I want to see.”

In humble trust Bartimaeus asked not for wealth, power, or success, but only for sight. 

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Pretty awesome, isn’t it?  

But this is where it gets hard because this story is not about Bartimaeus - it’s about us.

In the course of our troubles in life, do we see Jesus?  

Do we call out to Jesus or do we sit on the side of the road held back by our own blindness, in the form of the wounds, hurts, and diseases that we have? 

Do we inadvertently get in the way of others around us trying to get to Jesus?

And if we did take our problems to Jesus, and He were to ask us this very second, what could He do for us, what would we say?

Would our faith be strong enough for us to ask?  

Would our faith be strong enough to save us?

Like Bartemaeus, we can all ask Jesus for the power to see.  

This week, let us pray that our Lord strengthen our faith so that we more readily bring our brokenness to Him.  

Let us pray that our faith be made strong enough to save us and those around us.

And let us pray that by doing this, we can become better followers of Jesus and be reminded that there is nothing in our lives, no matter how big or small that God cannot use to save us.

Amen.