Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

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

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061823.cfm

In today’s awesome gospel, we see Jesus moved with pity for the crowds because they were troubled and abandoned, 

like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus then calls his disciples and sends them out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God 

and to call all of us to serve and care for one another.

Now, I’m not sure how many of us listen to Christian music as we go about our week, 

driving around or at work 

or puttering around the house.

But if you have the chance, 

I highly recommend listening to good Christian music, even if you only have it on in the background.

In the end, Christian music is a love song about God.

As I reflected on this week’s gospel from St. Matthew, 

I kept thinking about a song called “Do Something” by the Christian artist Matthew West.

Mr. West’s first name being the same as our gospel writer today.

I don’t do this very often, but I would like to read some of those lyrics to you.

And showing the Holy Spirit is making this your lucky day - 

I will read the lyrics and not attempt to sing them.

It goes like this.

“I woke up this morning

Saw a world full of trouble now, thought

How'd we ever get so far down, and

How's it ever gonna turn around

So I turned my eyes to Heaven

I thought, "God, why don't You do something?"

“Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of

People living in poverty

Children sold into slavery

The thought disgusted me

So, I shook my fist at Heaven

Said, "God, why don't You do something?"

And God said, 

"I did - I created you."

Those words hit me hard this week, 

Just as in the time of Jesus, there is a shortage of laborers for the harvest.

And the needs of God's people are as great today as they were in Jesus' time. 

In a world filled with addiction, suicide, confusion, poverty, injustice, and many other big needs, 

Jesus still calls us to serve and care for one another. 

So what do we do about it?

As usual, our Lord has given us the answers to the test.

Our Lord tells us to “do something”.

Jesus tells us that we should pray to God, 

the Lord of the harvest, to send the necessary laborers.  

That may not sound like doing much to you,

But if a Catholic prays consistently, thoughtfully, unselfishly and goes at it hard, 

it brings results, 

even if that prayer, 

that investment of time only moves us, 

to do something ourselves, 

beyond prayer.

To be an active laborer of the harvest.

Laboring for God is not just a human thing - helping, giving, evangelizing, 

but it is also a divine one - where prayer is necessary - constant prayer.

To ask our Lord to send more laborers.

To ask us to be reminded that we have received without pay 

To ask to give us the strength to now give without pay.

To ask to give us the will to give selflessly.

To ask for compassion so that we can see with the eyes of Jesus,

to see others the way Jesus sees them.

Jesus calls each of us, young and old, into his service. 

To bring healing and hope to those who are hurting. 

To be a light in the darkness

To bring the love of Christ to those who are lost.

To be in communion with one another. 

To care for one another. 

To bear one another's burdens.

To rejoice with one another. 

When we come together, 

We are strengthened and empowered to do the work that God has called us to do.

And it all starts with prayer.

So, I invite you to do something.

And I ask you to pray about it.

Join us on Wednesday night at 6pm here in this church.

Each week at that time, we have Evening Prayer, Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament - The Most Holy Eucharist.

Spend an hour with Jesus, outside of Mass.

Leave the world behind for one hour.

Pray for the strength to do something.

To be empowered to do the work that God has called us to do, 

Great miracles are borne of communal prayer before out Lord.

And we need them now more than ever, because

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.

Homily for Seventh Sunday of Easter - Year A

The readings for Seventh Sunday of Easter may be found at:  

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052123-Sunday.cfm

In today’s gospel passage from the evangelist Saint John, we hear Jesus praying to God the Father.

We don’t hear Jesus pray too many times in the Gospel, 

though we know He did so frequently,

This prayer has been referred to for centuries in the Church as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. 

This prayer is only about 650 words, slightly more than this homily.

It takes only 3 minutes and 30 seconds to read it aloud. 

But it’s said it would take all of eternity for us to fully understand it.

It comes at the end of a lengthy address by Jesus to His disciples,

where He is preparing them for what it will be like after He leaves them. 

He’s preparing them for life and ministry on their own.

 

It’s not an easy time for the disciples. 

They left everything to follow Jesus.

And now He is leaving them.

But, Jesus doesn’t leave the disciples hanging. 

He focuses their attention on how to have confidence and hope, 

even in the face of his imminent departure from them. 

Jesus does this by praying to the Father. 

He doesn’t pray that it will get easier for them. 

He doesn’t pray that they won’t encounter challenges or struggles. 

Jesus doesn’t even pray that their enemies will be defeated. 

What Jesus asks for them is hope and strength. 

But here’s the thing.

In the prayer, Jesus was not only interceding for them.

He was also interceding for future generations of disciples, including you and me.

In this prayer, Jesus prays that we may have eternal life. 

That we may know God.  That we may know Heaven.

This knowledge is not something we can get from taking a class, 

or attending a lecture or by reading a book.

Eternal life is not a matter of time and space. 

It’s the life of heaven. 

And that life begins here on earth.

Eternal life comes not from knowing about God. 

But knowing God.  Having a real relationship with Him.

To really know Him.

And how do we know God? 

By knowing Christ, who is God incarnate, God in the flesh. 

So let’s make this personal.

Do you want to go to heaven? 

Then you must want to know God, 

because that’s what heaven is. 

To know God and be with Him forever.

Eternal life is a love affair with the Trinity, 

the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit.

Eternal life is the reason God became man,

The reason Jesus died on the Cross, 

Eternal life is the main reason we are Catholic, 

the reason we go to Church. 

Today’s gospel makes it clear that eternal life is 

about us having an intimate relationship with God. 

To acknowledge God as the Father, 

and Jesus as the one who reveals him; 

and it means taking on the heart of Jesus, 

His empathy, His courage, His universal love for all, 

and his total obedience to the Father. 

This means daily conversion from our sins, 

and trusting in the power of sacramental grace to renew and sustain us always. 

We are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus 

and to love one another with the same selfless love that He demonstrated.

That’s a lot.

But as we reflect on Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, 

let us be reminded of the depth of His love for us,

And let us ask for His help to follow in His footsteps, 

growing in our faith and love for one another,

 

And in our first hand knowledge of the Father,

by talking to Him, following Him, Listening to Him 

and doing His Will.

Heaven, eternal life, knowing God is not something for later.

That life begins here on earth.  Let it begin now.

Homily For Third Sunday of Easter - Year A

The readings for Third Sunday of Easter may be found at:  

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042323.cfm

In this week’s passage from St. Luke we hear the story of two disciples, walking on the road to Emmaus.

This takes place right after Jesus’ resurrection on Easter and

Before Jesus appeared to His other disciples, who were hiding for fear that they would also be killed.  

We know, even today, that it’s not always easy to be known as a disciple of Christ, don’t we?

So here they are - walking, trying to get as far away from Jerusalem as possible.

Going, for all intents and purposes, in the wrong direction.

Good thing we don’t ever do that.

You see, the entire build up in Luke’s gospel is towards Jerusalem. 

The city where Jesus set his face, cleansed the temple, 

celebrated His Last Supper and did battle with the enemies of Israel.

Where He sent the Holy Spirit and formed the Church, 

Where He was wrongly convicted, tortured and murdered.

Where He rose from the dead.  

Jerusalem was the center of the universe for God on Earth.

Yet these two disciples were walking away from it.

They had believed Jesus would save Israel. 

Yet here they were.

They probably felt foolish, confused, discouraged and defeated.

Good thing we don’t ever feel like that.

As they walk, a stranger joins them and they begin to talk about the events of the past few days.  Holy Thursday.  Good Friday.

The stranger is Jesus.  But they don’t see it.

So caught up in their own stuff. 

Not able to recognize Jesus right there with them.

Good thing we don’t ever do that.

So this stranger begins explaining to them, in great detail, the meaning of the Scriptures.

Showing them how everything that has happened was foretold in the Old Testament. 

They are intrigued.

So as they approach their destination, they invite this stranger to stay with them.

And while at dinner, the stranger takes bread, blesses it, and breaks it, and finally they recognize Him.

It’s Jesus!

And once again they are filled with joy, wonder and renewed hope.

This story is a good reminder for us:

That we need to have our eyes open to see what God is doing in our lives. 

To not get so caught up in our own daily expectations and disappointments that we miss His presence.

To not lose sight of the power of the Scriptures to reveal God's plan for us. 

To help us better understand how God has been at work throughout all of history.

To remember that God is not a liar.

To find hope and encouragement in His promises. 

Like these disciples, we may not always recognize His presence.

But we can trust He is working all things together for our good - always.

This story is a good reminder of the Eucharist.

And how when we come together in Holy Mass - that Jesus is present with us in a real and tangible way - even if we don’t always recognize that, because our mind is somewhere else.

It’s a good reminder that if we worthily receive His body and blood, we are filled with His grace and love.

When the Eucharist is on our tongues, we are closer to Jesus than his disciples ever were.

When we take time with Jesus physically present, like during our weekly Holy Hour each Wednesday night at 6pm here in the Church - even if we only come for a few minutes, 

We recognize His real presence and remember he is really and tangibly with us.

They say that if you don;t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it,

So let us learn from the disciples experience on the road to Emmaus:

• To be open to the ways God is at work in our day-to-day lives.

• To recognize how important it is to spend regular time with the Scriptures.

• To worthily receive the Eucharist with joy and gratitude. 

• To spend time in the presence of Jesus each week.

Let us learn that by doing these things we can receive great grace, renewed hope and encouragement,

to help us stay on the right path, going the right way as we endure the daily hardships and difficulties of life.