Second Sunday of Advent

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120714.cfm

The Mass as the Bridge between the

First and Second “Comings” of Christ

Part II

The figure of St. John the Baptist appears in the gospel today on this Second Sunday of Advent.  What do we know about John?  We know that he comes from elderly parents (an indication of a prophet in line with the prophets of old); he leaps in the womb of St. Elizabeth when Our Lady comes near (who is pregnant with Our Lord); he wears the clothing of a prophet (camel hair) and eats modestly (honey and locusts — yum!); and he comes at a time when many are not expecting the Messiah.  And what is his message?  John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mk 1:4).

This message is appropriate for Advent because repentance is necessary to greet the Lord Jesus.  However, repentance is also imperative for preparing ourselves to meet the Lord Jesus in every Mass.  The Mass is essentially composed of two major parts, the “Liturgy of the Word” and the “Liturgy of the Eucharist.”  The first part of the Mass is preparation for the second part.  When we come to the church, it is always good to greet our brothers and sisters in the narthex (or the outside patio at St. Leo’s).  However, it is important that we enter the church at least five minutes early.  Once we are in the church proper, we should spend time recollecting ourselves by kneeling or sitting reverently and praying.

When Mass begins, we stand as a sign of respect.  The ministers enter: incense first (a sign of adoration), then cross (the sign of our salvation) sometimes flanked by two candle bearers (the light of Christ), then the deacon carrying the Book of the Gospels (words and works of Christ), and finally the priest who is “in the person of Christ the Head.”  Processions were common in the Old Testament, and as we sing the entrance antiphon or hymn during this procession, we are echoing the people who sang ‘Hosanna!’ at the glorious entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.  When the priest reaches the altar, he and the deacon(s) kiss the altar as a sign of reverence, and the altar is incensed because it is the object used for sacrifice and it represents Christ Himself.

The Mass continues with the Sign of the Cross, a reminder that we are gathered by the Most Holy Trinity and that the Holy Cross is our only hope.  (By the way, only the priest says, “In the Name . . .”; your response is “Amen”.)  The priest then greets the people based on a formula of St. Paul: “The Lord be with you,” etc.  The response “And with your spirit” is a desire that the priest receive peace from the Spirit he received at ordination.  The priest then invites us to acknowlege our sins — to repent (as St. John the Baptist preaches).  We should use the period of silence to think about our sins and unworthiness.  When we say the Confiteor (“I confess”), we need to mean it.  The priest invokes once again God’s mercy after we say this prayer together, and then we chant “Lord, have mercy” in English or in Greek (the language of the NT), Kyrie, eleison.  We sing the Gloria only on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent.  It is based on the joyful hymn of the Angels at the birth of Christ and was formulated as early as the Second Century.  Afterwards, the priest sings or says, “Let us pray,” and gives us another opportunity for silent recollection.  We should really think about what we want in this Mass, and then listen attentively to the words of the prayer as the priest says or chants it — to make his words our words.

If we really focus on paying attention during the first part of Mass and avoid “zoning out,” we will find that we really “get something out of it” and that we will encounter Christ in the readings and preaching of the priest.  To prepare the way of the Lord at the start will help assure a welcome reception of Jesus in the second part of Mass when He enters into our bodies and souls at Holy Communion.

First Sunday of Advent

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/113014.cfm

Advent is the season of “remembering” and “waiting” for the King.  Christ, the Light of the World, has already come, but we are still waiting for Him to come again.  Advent is a type of “bridge” connecting the first and second comings of Jesus Christ.  Like the season of Advent, the holy Mass is also a bridge between the two comings of Christ — but it is a more perfect connection.  This form of Catholic worship was not invented by the Catholic Church.  The Eucharist was instituted by Christ at the Last Supper, ratified by His death and resurrection, and extends His real, true, substantial presence until the end of time when He will return in glory.  History and the writings of the early Church Fathers confirm that the Mass was the way the earliest Christians worshipped God.  Although the form, gestures, and some externals have developed over the centuries, the essentials of the Mass have remained the same.  St. Justin Martyr, writing in the second century, attests that a “proclamation of the word” and a “breaking of the bread” were present in the earliest Eucharistic liturgies.

The Church still teaches that intentionally missing Sunday Mass under normal circumstances is a mortal sin, so we are not to take lightly Sundays and holy days of obligation.  Because we are human (and all too capable of just “going through the motions”), we at times need to be reminded of how important the Mass is.  The rich symbolism of the Mass is meant to help us realize that divine worship is to envelop us — to take us out of time and put us into contact with that which is eternal.  The symbolism of the Mass is also a bridge from the Old Testament to the New.

On Sundays in many parish churches, all six candles are lit and near the altar there is a crucifix, which almost functions as a seventh candle.  This harkens back to the Jewish temple, where a seven-branch candelabra (similar to the menorah of Hanukkah) was placed near the altar of sacrifice.  The beeswax candle is a symbol of Christ: the beeswax signifies Christ’s body (bees obtain wax from flowers like the flesh of Christ was obtained from the Blessed Virgin); the wick signifies the soul of Christ; and the flame signifies the divinity of Christ.  The linens on the altar are a symbol of the burial shrouds used at Christ’s death, which were folded neatly after His Resurrection.  The chalice veil is a symbol of mystery and sacredness.  Holy objects and holy people in Judaism were always veiled.  The objects that will contain the Body and Blood of Jesus are veiled before and during Mass as a sign that we do not truly understand what takes place at the Mass, nor are we worthy.  Incense is burned as a sign of God’s presence in His holy temple and of our prayers ascending to heaven, and it has the effect of engaging our sense of smell during the liturgical celebration.

Over the course of the next three Sundays of Advent, I will write on what each part of the Mass means.  Understanding the Mass will help us to avoid “falling asleep” — both physically and spiritually — and will help us to stay alert at the coming of Christ in every Mass.  “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come (Mk 13:33).

September 21, 2014—Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092114.cfm

Called to be a Worker in the Vineyard

For to me life is Christ, and death is gain (Phil 1:21).  With St. Paul, there is no sense of comfortable Christianity, no “Health & Wealth Gospel” or “Prosperity Gospel.”  For St. Paul, the Christian faith — the living of the “good news” — is not a Sunday religion or something that is merely social like getting together for a community meal.  Faith in Jesus Christ changes everything — so much so that St. Paul writes, I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20).  Being a Christian entails a radical transformation, out of my comfort zone and out of doing just what I want so that I can transform the world through my belief, my hope, and my life in Jesus Christ.

In the gospel for this Sunday (Mt 20:1-16a), Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who saw people standing idle in the marketplace.  We are those who stand about idle in the marketplace.  All of us, in some way, are content with lukewarmness, some form of complacency, some desire to just “stand around” in our faith.  Maybe our tepidity is not wanting to volunteer our time at church (or at all); maybe we are apathetic toward the rights of the unborn (for those who have no voice) because abortion is such a controversial issue; maybe our lukewarmness is that we habitually missSunday Mass for insufficient reasons.  Lukewarmness is always a temptation and easy to slip into (even for priests) and we must be aware of the consequences of such an attitude (see Rev 3:16).  Nevertheless, God (the landowner) is constantly inviting us to labor in His vineyard.  Even if we are late in life (more advanced in years), we can always respond to God’s invitation to labor in His vineyard.

Yes, spreading the gospel in the family and at work is tough, but our efforts do help to build up the kingdom of God in our little area.  Yes, standing up for the sanctity of unborn human life in the LifeChain and in other peaceful Pro-Life activism can get you dirty looks and curses, but lives of the innocent can be saved and mothers’ lives can be changed.  Yes, Sunday Mass can be inconvenient at times, especially when we have worked hard all week and just want to take it easy, but going to Mass anyway is a recognition that God is the giver of time and should be the aim of our hard work and even of our leisure.  Christ is not calling for sleepy, bored Christians.  Our parish cannot just be another sleepy, little church!  Christ is calling us to work for His kingdom here on earth.  And what does He promise?  Eternal life — not a place in the clouds sometime in the future — but now.  The “Landowner” does not wait to give us a daily wage, but He gives us our daily bread quintessentially in the Mass — Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  And as we leave our church this Sunday to accomplish such a mission, we must follow St. Paul’s instruction to conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ (Phil 1:27).

September 14, 2014—Feast of the Exultation of the Cross

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091414.cfm

To Be Most Like God

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross.  On the liturgical calendar, this feast of September 14th [and its readings] trump the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  (For those of you non-Catholics who read my write-up each week, don’t worry. . . Even practicing Catholics have a hard time figuring out the hierarchy of feasts and our set of Biblical readings called the “Lectionary.”)  The gospel reading we would normally hear this Sunday is a continuation of Matthew 18, a follow-up to the gospel we heard last Sunday on how to reprimand another for his or her sin — the art of “fraternal correction.”  Matthew 18:21-35 is about forgiveness and showing mercy.  Christ our Lord says to St. Peter that we are not only to forgive seven times, but seventy times seven — a number denoting limitless forgiveness and mercy.  To demonstrate the profundity of this teaching, Jesus gives the “Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.”  A king (symbolizing God the Father) forgives a 10,000 talent debt, that is, 20 years worth of wages, when his servant asks for mercy.  That servant represents each and every one of us [sinners].  But Jesus shows how ungrateful this servant is (and how we all can be) when the servant refuses to forgive someone in debt to him — just 100 denarii, that is, 100 days worth of wages — a much smaller debt than what the king had forgiven.  Jesus tells us we will be punished severely if we do not forgive our neighbors from our hearts.

The forgiveness of which our Lord is speaking is not just forgiving someone for leaving their dishes in the sink, or someone being late for an important date, or someone who pulled out in front of you on the road.  It is a call to an attitude of forgiveness, so that when we are hurt badly, we will be able to be generous in mercy — as generous as God is with us.  Without this attitude, how can we forgive a close friend who says something bad about us behind our back?  How can we forgive an unfaithful spouse, or a child abuser, or a notorious murderer on death row?  How can we forgive the terrorists who plotted and executed the attacks on the World Trade Center thirteen years ago?  It is important to highlight that forgiveness does not absolve responsibility; mercy does not negate the demand for justice.  However, forgiveness opens the path to charity and the hope for conversion of the wrongdoer.  It is a submission that ultimate justice is God’s — not ours.  If you are having trouble forgiving someone right now (or some people who have hurt you badly), think about the worst sin you have ever committed against God and remember how God has been merciful to you.  Then in your prayer, thank God once again for his limitless mercy and ask for his help in forgiving the person (or persons) who have hurt you.  Some wounds are so painful that we cannot forgive without God’s grace.  And remember:  When we forgive someone, especially someone who has sinned against us gravely, it is then that we are most like God.  Forgiveness is the most loving characteristic of God, and so when we are forgiving, we are most like God.

August 31, 2014—Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/083114.cfm

Health and Wealth or the Cross?

There is a particularly attractive message preached on television on Sundays, and it is probably preached in some Christian communities near you.  The writer of the book, Prayer of Jabez (Multnomah Books, 2000), is also a proponent of this message.  And the message is this: “If you believe in God and if you trust in Him, He will shower down upon you abundant material blessings. . . God will pamper good Christians and they will never have to suffer.”  This message is called the “Health and Wealth Gospel” or the “Prosperity Gospel.”  It is not completely new, either.  John Calvin, one of the original Protestant “reformers” in the 16th Century, taught that “the Elect” (i.e., true Christians predestined by God) can be distinguished from others by their riches as signs of God’s favor.  Our response as Catholic Christians is simply a question:  Is the “Health and Wealth Gospel” Biblical?  Is it the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

In the gospel passage of this Sunday (Mt 16:21-27), St. Peter tries to stop Jesus from going to His Passion — from being crucified and killed for our sins.  And what is our Lord’s response?  “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mt 16:23).  This is shocking!  Jesus had just called Him the rock upon which He was to build His Church, and now He is calling Him Satan.  And why?  Because Simon Peter is not thinking as God does, but as men do.  Jesus goes on to teach: NOT that if you follow Him you will be rewarded with material blessings; NOT that you will be guaranteed good health; NOT even that you will “assured” of your salvation; but Christ teaches, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24).  So, what does this mean for us as?  First, we must deny ourselves.  We must abstain absolutely from sin, especially mortal sin.  This means, for example, taking seriously purity, holding our tongue lest we speak filthy things, and avoiding excessive eating and drinking.  St. Paul teaches in the second reading (Rom 12:1-2) that we must not conform ourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of our minds.  Second, we must joyfully take up our crosses.  Just because we are faithful Catholics does not mean we will not have crosses.  On the contrary, it means that we must embrace them when they come our way — and when we unite them to the Cross of the Lord through prayer — they are the means of our purification and sanctification.  Yet this is hard.  (As a priest, it so much easier to preach to my parishioners about taking up their crosses rather than actually taking up the crosses the Lord sends me in my life.)  Thirdly, we must follow the Lord — to healing, to teaching, to works of mercy, to Calvary.  Where do we find the strength to overcome our selfishness and sinfulness?  Where can we find the power to take up our crosses?  Mass, Confession and Adoration are the ways the saints show us.  The Mass is Calvary made present in the here and now, and yet at the holy altar, we encounter the Lord Jesus to be refreshed, strengthened, and enabled to take up our crosses and follow Him.  At the holy altar, St. Paul teaches we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, [our] spiritual worship (Rom 12:1).  During the Mass, there are many opportunities to think about your crosses and ask the Lord for help in carrying them.  Let us avoid willful distractions, boredom, and desire for entertainment; and let us ask for the Lord’s grace to follow Him wherever He leads us.

August 24, 2014—Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082414.cfm

What is Papal Infallibility?

When you look at the Vatican flag, you will notice that the two symbols of the papacy are clearly evident in front of the white background.   On top is the papal tiara.  It was never used for liturgy but was worn in civic ceremonies by the pope.  It is shaped like a beehive and contains three crowns symbolizing the authority of Christ the Priest, Prophet, and King.  (Pope Paul VI retired the papal tiara after Vatican II.)  Below the papal tiara is the more prominent image: the two keys.  One is gold to represent the pope’s authority that comes from heaven, and one is silver to represent the pope’s authority over the faithful on earth.  While the “keys” are certainly metaphors for spiritual and ecclesiastical authority, they are not something the Catholic Church invented to justify having a human leader.  On the contrary, the keys are given by Christ Himself — and not to all the apostles, but to Simon Peter alone (Mt 16:19).  Just as the Church is to exist until the end of time, St. Peter’s primacy was not to end at his death but rather to extend to all his successors until the glorious return of Christ.  This is the basis of the Church’s teaching of Papal Infallibility.

There are a lot of misunderstandings about Papal Infallibility.  A common misunderstanding about Papal Infallibility is that it means a pope is unable to sin, that is, that the pope is impeccable.  Well, all you need to do is look at an account of some of the lives of Renaissance popes and you will realize that popes do, indeed, sin (and sometimes gravely).  So, if Papal Infallibility does not mean that popes are perfect, what does it mean?  Papal Infallibility denotes that when a pope teaches solemnly ex cathedra — “from the chair” — on matters pertaining to faith and morals, he is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error (CCC 891).  The source of this teaching is not human but divine.  In the first reading (Is 22:19-23), we hear about the “Key of the House of David.”  This “key” refers to the power that will be given to the Son of David, to the Christ (Messiah) Himself.  But in the gospel reading, we hear how Jesus Christ deliberately decides to give the “Keys of the Kingdom” (a metaphor for divine authority) to Simon Peter.  Yes, the Keys of the Kingdom belong rightfully to Christ, but He freely chooses to give them to His vicars on earth — the popes, the successors of St. Peter.

Having had “bad popes” does not mean that Papal Infallibility has been proven wrong or that it is merely a human invention.  Rather, we see Christ’s power through the papacy — even in sinful popes and sinful church leaders — because if the Catholic Church was merely a human institution, it would have failed centuries ago.  But it has remained.  Governments and nations have risen and fallen, but the Church still stands and continues to grow!  God’s power is greater than human weakness.  Christ promises us that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church.  He does not say the gates of hell will not touch His Church, but only that they will not prevail against His Church (Mt 16:18).  As Catholic Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ remains faithful to His promise, that He has not abandoned His Church — He never has and He never will.  He has raised up great saints to lead His holy Church like Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope St. Gregory the Great, and Pope St. John Paul II (truly a “Great” of our times) to name a few.  These popes, in their lives and in their teachings, lead us to affirm with St. Peter that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the gates of hell will not prevail against His holy Church.

August 17, 2014—Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081714.cfm

The Role of the Catholic Church in Salvation

“It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” (Mt 15:26).  Our Lord’s response to the Canaanite woman is shocking . . . not exactly the sweet and gentle Jesus we have inside our minds.  However, it is important to take into account that Jesus came from the Jews and for the Jews first, and then for the Gentiles.  Nevertheless, because of this woman’s humility, her utter abasement before the Lord and the disciples, and her faith and perseverance, the Lord listens to her and grants her request.  

As Catholic Christians, we hold as true that Jesus Christ chose to found one Church (Mt 16:18) and that this one Church has visible boundaries (Mt 5:14).  There is a related doctrine we hold that is often avoided and at best misunderstood.  In fact, many Catholics simply dismiss it as “unecumenical” without actually trying to understand it.  The name of this doctrine in Latin is: Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, that is, “Outside the Church there is no salvation” (CCC 846-8).  Now, firstly, what does this mean?  It means that membership in the true Church, the Church Christ founded, is necessary for salvation.  St. Paul teaches that the Church has Christ as its head and we are individually members of His body (1 Cor 12).  It is impossible to be joined to Christ without somehow being joined to His body.  Secondly, what does this doctrine not say?  We as Catholics are not saying that everyone else, including Protestant Christians, are going to hell.  We, as members of the true Church, acknowledge the millions of non-Catholic Christians out there who love Jesus Christ and are faithful to their interpretation of the Holy Bible (Vatican II: Lumen Gentium, 15).  However, we lament the fact that they are not in full communion with us and have instead interpreted the Scriptures in their own way — not in keeping with the Sacred Tradition (2 Thess 2:15) and the consistent teaching of the Church’s Magisterium (1 Tim 3:15).

This evaluation of the current state of Christianity in the world is not a condemnation of anyone.  Actually, because we know so many fine, committed non-Catholics, we can hope and pray for their salvation — but not apart from the Church.  If they are saved, they are still saved because of the Catholic Church of which they are members (albeit imperfectly) due to their faith in Christ and through baptism.  Many Protestants, especially Evangelicals, are our greatest allies in promoting the Culture of Life.  We should seek to work together for common goals, without forgetting we have a duty to invite Protestants and the lost sheep (fallen-away Catholics) into full communion with the Catholic Church.  Ecumenical dialogue means we talk about what we have in common as well as our differences.  Evangelization is not opposed to ecumenism because both endeavors seek the same object, that is, truth.  And if truth is what we really seek, we should ask Protestant Christians what is keeping them from Catholicism.  We might be surprised at where this dialogue may lead. 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Going Out from the Ship of the Church

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081014.cfm

At St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, before you enter the church and underneath the façade, there is a portico through which you must pass.  Inside the portico, above the entrance, is the image called the Navicella della Chiesa, that is, the "Ship of the Church."  It is a mosaic attributed to the great artist Giotto from the 14th Century, and it depicts Simon Peter walking on the water, beginning to sink, and the holy Savior reaching out to save him.  What is unique about this mosaic is not so much the beautiful art but its placement in the portico:  You do not see this image when you enter the church; you see this image when you exit the church.  In the gospel passage that this mosaic depicts (Mt 14:22-33), we see the boat of the disciples being rocked and buffeted by a storm in the fourth watch (a time between 3 and 6 AM).  All of a sudden they see a figure walking over the water, which was extremely frightening.  When Jesus gets close to the boat, St. Peter — who always speaks on behalf of the Twelve — says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  And so Jesus says, “Come.”  Now, pay close attention to what happens next:  St. Peter starts to walk out into the water, but when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened.  Imagine:  St. Peter, the first pope, took his eyes off Christ and he began to sink!  And when we take our eyes off Christ, we will sink as well.

This is the reason why the "Ship of the Church" image is meant to be seen when you exit St. Peter's — that we may not take our eyes off Christ when we go out into the world.  The same principle applies to us when we are in our parish church in Centerville or Hilltop Lakes (or wherever).  It is our Navicella, our ship, which is a refuge amidst the storms of this world.  When we come to together at the church to adore our Lord and Savior, to pray actively in the sacred liturgy, to receive His precious Body and Blood as a community of faith, this gospel is a reminder to us that we must not take our eyes off Christ when we depart the church.  Rather, we bring Him with us into the world.  Our universal vocation is to bring Christ into our marriage, into our family, into our friendships, into our work, into our service and political organizations.  But there is one thing we cannot do, one thing that is not an option, and that is to check Christ at the door.  Nevertheless, we know the risk we take when we leave the safety of our Navicella, our church.  We know the temptations, the dangers, and the pitfalls of walking toward Jesus on rough waters while trusting in Him; and at times we will fall, we will take our eyes off Christ.  St. Peter gives us an important example that when we fall we do not despair.  We simply call out, “Lord, save me!”  Our loving Lord immediately reaches out his venerable hand, and just like He saved Simon Peter, He will save us.  When we fall, we simply ask to be saved through the way Jesus gave us: the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  In this sacrament, Jesus reconciles us — “saves us” once again — and brings us back into loving Communion with Himself and with His holy Church.  This is the way we stay afloat in this life, and this is the way we affirm with the disciples, past and present, that Jesus is truly the Son of God and that He has given His Church the power to forgive sins.  It is how we keep our eyes focused on Christ, walking towards Him and His Kingdom until the end of time.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Miracle Greater Than Feeding Five Thousand

Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080314.cfm

If you look around Centerville, practically every other building is a church.  All these churches are visible signs of how seriously our local area views faith in Jesus Christ.  One of the great advantages of living in the United States is religious liberty.  Rather than stifling Christianity, this freedom has actually encouraged Christianity to grow.  As Americans, we have the right to choose whatever religion we want to embrace, or to practice no religion at all.  As those who profess Christ, we have the right to choose whatever church we want to attend and how we are going to be fed in our faith.  However, even though we can choose where and how we worship God, the question should be asked:  Is there a way that He has given us by which Jesus wants us to worship Him?  Is there a way that He has established for us to be fed?

In today’s gospel, we hear the “Miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand” (Mt 14:13-21).  This miracle is recorded in all four Gospels.  (By the way, this was a miracle. To believe that 5,000 men simply shared 5 loaves and 2 fishes might give you mushy feelings, but logistically it would have been impossible unless Christ had actually worked a miracle for them.)  Our Lord miraculously multiplied the loaves and fishes for possibly over ten thousand people when you count women and children.  The prophet Elisha prefigured this miracle when he multiplied twenty barley loaves to feed one hundred men, with some bread left over (2 Kgs 4:42-44).  Look closely at the words the gospel passage uses: Christ took the loaves, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples (Mt 14:19).  Does that formula sound familiar?  It should because that is the same formula the priest says in the Eucharistic Prayer during the consecration of the Sacred Host.  The “Miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand” — of the Lord meeting the bodily needs of his followers — is the prefigurement of an even greater miracle, that is, the miracle of changing simple bread and wine into His own living Body and Blood!

This is what makes our form of worship different from any Christian denomination: The way we worship God and the way we are fed is not something we Catholics invented.  We have received this holy form of worship, this sacred Food and Drink as a divine gift: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19).  We must approach this Mystery of Faith with deep reverence and profound thanksgiving.  Does this mean that we believe other Christians are not worshiping God? No.  Does this mean that we believe contemporary, upbeat, entertaining, mega church, or cowboy worship styles are evil?  No.  But objectively there is a deficiency to these kinds of worship because they are in discontinuity with the essential Form by which the Church has worshiped God and been fed for two millennia.  The novelty of our Catholic faith is that Jesus Christ instituted the Blessed Sacrament out of love for us — not just to have us come together for a community breakfast — but to feed us with Himself.  He desires us to have true Communion (true fellowship) with Him and therefore to establish solid communion (solid fellowship) with one another.  Holy Communion is more authentic than just “feeling good,” or “enjoying the music,” or even “liking the pastor.”  These things change, and pastors come and go, but Christ remains the same.  The Eucharist is the way Jesus remains with us always, until the end of time (Mt 28:20).

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072714.cfm

“Pulling All the Stops” for God

On July 17, I celebrated the fourth anniversary of my priesthood ordination.  It brought back some great memories.  At my Ordination Mass in Tyler that hot Saturday morning four years ago, about half of the attendees were non-Catholics.  Many of whom had never even been to a Catholic Mass.  As many of you know, a priesthood ordination is one of the most impressive liturgies the Catholic Church offers.  All the ministers are well-practiced; there are gold and white vestments; incense, chant and many external signs and symbols accompany the ordination rite.  Since so many attendees were Protestants, I was curious about how they would react to such traditional worship.  The week after my ordination, so many of these people stopped by my parents’ house to say how they were moved by the ceremony — that they had never seen such beauty and that the ‘choreography’ even rivaled that of military ceremonies.  The most interesting comment came from a gentleman whose son had graduated with me from high school.  They are members of the Church of the Nazarene in Gilmer.  I asked him what he thought of the Ordination.  He said, “I don’t know if I believe all things Catholics believe, but I will say this . . . when you Catholics worship God, y’all pull all the stops!”  He told me that he had always thought Catholics mechanically went through the motions of standing, sitting, kneeling, etc.  However, what he found is that Catholics were really praying through these gestures.

I recount this story not only because it demonstrates that sacred liturgy has the power to evangelize, but because some Protestants recognize what we as Catholics sometimes take for granted, namely, that the holy Mass deserves the very best: the best vestments, the best vessels, the best music, the best of everything.  And why?  Because Christ is Whom we encounter personally at each Mass — and He is worth it!  Christ is the “pearl of great price” (Mt 13:46); He is the “treasure hidden in the field” for whom we give up everything to purchase (Mt 13:44).  Since I believe in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, I am extremely careful when I am handling His Sacred Body and Precious Blood; but this is also why I never rush the Mass and why I take my time leading the prayers of the Mass, both spoken and silent.  I am simply doing what the Church asks all priests, that is, to celebrate faithfully and reverently the holy mysteries of God so that the People of God can encounter Christ personally.  Unfortunately, because our society is so polarized (as I wrote in the bulletin on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul), some in the Church categorize priests who are being faithful to church documents as “conservative” or “traditional” — or even “old school.”  Thankfully, the Bishop has been emphatic that we priests of the Diocese of Tyler need to be faithful to the liturgical documents of Vatican II and those promulgated hitherto.  He correctly understands that our past history and traditions are always in continuity with the present and future.  Bishop Strickland, who could represent the head of the household (see Mt 13:52), is bringing from the storeroom both the new and the old.  As a pastor, I am grateful for a Bishop who supports my pastoral agenda — to show how all the beautiful endeavors and adornments that enhance our worship of the living God are key to our growth individually and communally, in the charity we show our neighbor, and making our parish grow in faith and in numbers.  Through our beautiful, dignified, reverent worship of God, we not only remind ourselves but the whole world “when it comes to the worship of God, we Catholics pull all the stops!”

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072014.cfm

Weeds and Hypocrites

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t go to church because it’s just full of a bunch of hypocrites”?  As a priest, I have to tell you that I hear this over and over again.  Maybe you hear it constantly, too.  It is disappointing, not just because there is some truth to it — that there are Christians who misrepresent what we believe because of their public sinfulness — but because the people who say such things close themselves to a relationship with God (which is bad enough) but also close themselves to fruitful relationships with others in the Church.

In Matthew 13, Our Lord continues to preach parables of the kingdom of heaven.  In the “Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat,” Jesus warns His disciples that there will be weeds in the harvest, that is, those who do evil and cause scandal even in the Church.  God permits them to exist alongside the wheat — the good grain — those who live faithfully to Christ and His Church.  Again, [like last week] the temptation for us is to automatically justify ourselves.  We might think about all those sinful people out there, or we might look around our parish and think of those people here who are poor examples of Christians.  Due to our pride or our “being set in our ways,” we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are definitely the wheat — the good Christians — and that we couldn’t possibly be weeds in the Church.

The good news is that we are the wheat, but there are still crevasses in our lives, that is, areas exposed to threats from the world, the flesh and the devil.  Unless we tend to these areas, weeds will grow and we will be in danger, not just to ourselves, but to others in the Church.  So, how do we uproot any weeds that might be springing up?  We have to make the sacrament of confession a priority in our lives.  Between my two parishes, I am in the confessional three hours a week because I believe it is essential to the Christian life.  As a priest, I generally go to confession every 1-2 weeks and go to monthly spiritual direction.  Why?  Because if the evil one makes weeds grow up in my life, then we all suffer.  It will give just one more person a reason to say: “I don’t go to church because the priest is a hypocrite!”  Yes, some hypocrisy exists in my life and in all faithful Catholics’ lives, but at least we admit it and we are trying with God’s grace to not be hypocrites.  In fact, that’s why we begin Mass with the Penitential Rite (“I confess to almighty God. . .”), which is a common recognition that we are in the church because we seek God’s mercy.  We expose our weeds to the fire of God’s love to be more deeply converted and grow in holiness.  It is the way God will take us, make us grow, and help us shine like the sun in His Kingdom and in His Church.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071314.cfm

The Parable of the Sower

A sower went out to sow (Mt 13:3).  The parable that Jesus Christ uses in Matthew 13 would certainly appeal to the people of His day.  They were farmers, workers of the land.  They would know the frustration of 75% wasted seed, and they would appreciate even just 25% good fruit.  As Catholic Christians living in the third millennium — despite our modern professions and experience — the “Parable of the Sower” still has power to speak to us today.  If you are reading this, most likely you are already “bearing fruit” in some way with your faith.  However, the temptation for all of us is to think that the bearing of fruit is finished.  It is easy for us to think of other people who fall into the categories of the 75% bad fruit: the bad seed who got eaten up by birds (atheists and infidels); or who sprang up immediately and then got scorched (those who quit going to church when things got too tough); or those who got smothered by thorns (people who allowed material wealth to replace their faith).

Just because we have already produced good fruit does not mean we are finished.  We are still susceptible to the other 75% of seed.  Satan, the bird who eats the seed of the Word of God that fell on the path, still wants to rob us of God’s grace.  Our flesh, still wanting to be comfortable, can prevent us from being rooted in God (and if we allow our lower passions to rule our lives, we will get scorched).  The world, the thorns of riches and earthly power, still wants to smother what God began at baptism.  The dangers of the 75% of seed are still applicable to us.  So, what is the good news of this Gospel?  What should our response be?

Firstly, please have patience with your sower, that is, with your priest.  We are only cooperators with the true Sower — God Himself.  Pray for us that we may be faithful to the Lord, faithful to our priestly promises/vows, and faithful to the teachings of Holy Mother Church.  Secondly, have patience with yourselves and do not give up even if you have failed to bear good fruit.  God wants to take you affectionately, prune you, and help you to grow (see John 15:1-17).  (Making a thorough examination of conscience and a good confession are the first steps to getting “pruned” so that you can continue to bear good fruit.)  Thirdly, be open to growth and resolve at each Mass to be open to Christ’s nourishment in the Most Holy Eucharist.  The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord give us the nutrients we need to bear good fruit!  Through your openness to growth and through your reception of God’s sanctifying grace through the Most Blessed Sacrament, you will be able to bear thirty, maybe sixty, maybe a hundredfold for the Lord.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070614.cfm

A Big Victory for Religious Freedom

In Time for Independence Day

Last Monday, the Supreme Court upheld religious freedom in the Hobby Lobby case.  Writing the 5-4 majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito issued the decision for the court, “The Supreme Court holds government can’t require closely held corporations with religious owners to provide contraception coverage.”  This decision guarantees the rights of Americans to live out their faith in daily life through the closely held businesses they run.  The court based its decision on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which Congress passed in 1993 with bipartisan support and President Bill Clinton signed into law.  Many Americans may not have heard of RFRA, but the law has worked very well over the past two decades to allow people to live out their faith, both inside and outside of church.  Pope Francis has recently reiterated the importance of the public dimension of our faith: “Religious freedom is not simply freedom of thought or private worship. It is the freedom to live according to ethical principles, both privately and publicly.”

Even though the majority ruled in favor of religious liberty, it is disappointing that the Supreme Court did not rule unanimously 9-0.  (Does this say something about the ideologies of the dissenting Justices?).  Furthermore, the Hobby Lobby decision only applies to companies that are privately held, not publicly traded; and the ruling only applies to the abortion mandate, not other various practices to which people may have religious objections.  Non-profit organizations (e.g., Little Sisters of the Poor, EWTN, et al.) are still waiting for a ruling about their right to opt out of the mandate, but this decision at least signals hope for a favorable ruling in the near future.  A statement from the USCCB commented, “The Court clearly did not decide whether the so-called ‘accommodation’ violates RFRA when applied to our charities, hospitals and schools, so many of which have challenged it as a burden on their religious exercise. We continue to hope that these great ministries of service, like the Little Sisters of the Poor and so many others, will prevail in their cases as well.”

We should commend the Green family of Hobby Lobby for risking their entire business and economical well-being for their Christian beliefs.  God has rewarded their courage and faith.  May He also give a religious freedom victory to organizations of the Catholic Church that are threatened by the ruthless HHS contraception mandate.

Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062914-day-mass.cfm

Sts. Peter and Paul &

Popes Benedict and Francis

The other day, I received a forwarded e-mail message that caused me a little concern.  The title of the message was “Differences Pope Francis Made in One Appearance”.  It contained a photo of Pope Benedict XVI seated on the left and Pope Francis seated on the right.  The message was a comparison of the “pomp” in which Benedict chose to vest himself versus the “simplicity” in which Francis has chosen to vest.  Although the e-mail was not an explicit attack on the papacy of Benedict, it certainly aimed to leave the reader with a negative impression of him.  Furthermore, it also gave the impression that we can judge the ministry and character of Francis (or any church leader) based on his external appearances.  Regardless of the person or position, external dress does tell us something about a person’s preferences, but it does not say much about a person’s integrity or ability to lead.  God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart (1 Sam 16:7b).

Today, we live in an extremely polarized society in the western world.  The mass media categorizes every word or action of a public figure as either liberal or conservative, contemporary or traditional.  It is bad enough to constantly hear about the extremes of the political world on TV and the internet, but this polarizing mindset also filters news about the Catholic Church.  As it relates to news about the two most recent popes, Benedict has certainly been characterized as a cold, grandiose, German traditionalist; and Francis is seen as a warm, simple, Latin American revolutionary.  These comparisons do an injustice to both of these great men.  Sadly, many Catholics not only buy into these shallow juxtapositions, they do not realize how divisive such critiques can be to Church unity.  Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are (Jn 17:11b).

The Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul is a reminder that God used the gifts and talents of two very different men in order lead the Early Church in spreading the Kingdom of God.  Simon Peter was a simple fisherman from Galilee with no formal education whom Jesus called to follow Him.  Despite constantly “sticking his foot in his mouth,” the Lord called Simon Peter “rock” and gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven (see Mt 16:18).  Peter denied Jesus three times and was absent from Calvary, but was given the opportunity to repent and reconfirm his love for Jesus (see Jn 21:15-19).  Saul of Tarsus — who came into the picture only after the ascension of Jesus — was a highly educated, rigorous Jew who consented to the persecution of the first Christians.  When he was knocked down on his way to Damascus, the Lord had great plans for [Paul] after his conversion to Christ (Acts 9).  Paul had to earn the trust of the other apostles and had great success in his missionary expeditions.  Paul is considered the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and Peter is considered the “Apostle to the Jews.”  Paul is responsible for writing most of the NT, whereas Peter only has two epistles and an influence on the Gospel of Mark.  These men were very different — and even had a disagreement at one point (see Gal 2:11-14) — but the Lord used them to reach different people in varying ways.  Of course, the analogy to Benedict and Francis falls short for several reasons (Peter and Paul were not both popes among other things).  However, I do believe the example of Peter and Paul is one way to look at the papacies of Benedict and Francis.  Two great men, two different pastoral approaches, two diverse backgrounds are utilized by God to lead the Church and to bring Christ to the world.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday)

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062214.cfm

Adoring the Body and Blood of Christ

in Centerville and Hilltop Lakes

 Many of you might remember when the Feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated on a Thursday around this time of year.  Perhaps there was a Eucharistic procession through your town (or around your Catholic school), or maybe there was extended Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.  These are all devotional practices I would like to do in the future on this feast day, but today I would like to focus on how today’s feast makes us unique — how it sets us apart — as Catholic Christians.  We live in a part of the United States that is not very Catholic, but it is very Protestant and Evangelical.  Virtually the one belief that sets us apart from other Christians is our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.  Other Christians say that it is only a symbol, but we believe that it is really Jesus Christ at the holy Mass.  (Jesus does not say that this is a “symbol” in the Bible; see John 6:51-58)  Our belief in His Real Presence changes everything: the way we dress for Mass; the way we turn off our cell phones (and never “text”) during Mass; the way we kneel, pray and sing; and the way we reverently receive Holy Communion.  All these actions point to our belief that it is really Jesus.  We do not see Him as the disciples did 2,000 years ago, but we know through faith that He is here!  And ultimately, this belief must lead to a deeper conversion in our lives as Catholics.

Two and a half years ago, St. Thomas More Catholic Community built a beautiful new church in Hilltop Lakes.  Last year in Centerville, we undertook the project of renovating the little church of St. Leo’s in order to make it more beautiful.  The two projects combined cost over a half million dollars.  Why would two little churches in Leon County, Texas spend this kind of money on their church buildings?  Other churches have more facilities and more programs than St. Leo’s and STM.  (Some even have rodeo activities and a community meal every Sunday.)  But what we do have is far greater, far more important, and far more beautiful.  We have Jesus Christ in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  No other “church” has the sacramental presence of Christ as we have Him in the Catholic Church.  Because Christ’s presence has been honored and prioritized in this way at St. Leo’s and STM, I believe the Lord is bestowing tremendous blessings on both communities.  Not only were the new church and St. Leo’s renovation paid off last year, we have money in the bank to go to the next stage in both communities — thanks to your generosity.  Christ is faithful to us when we make Him the very center of our lives, but especially of our Catholic communities.

My challenge to both St. Leo’s and STM this Sunday is to reflect on what this belief means to you as an individual and as a community:  How does my belief in the Holy Eucharist change my life?  My attitude?  My thoughts, words and deeds?  Do I care that Jesus wants to give Himself to me in such a radical way?  What are we doing so that Christ can touch our marriages, our families, our jobs and our wider communities? Ultimately, we will be judged severely for not responding to the sanctifying grace given to us in the sacraments.  Today, we have the opportunity to let Christ transform us and empower us with a renewed sense of mission as Catholic Christians.  We receive Jesus wholly so we can bring His presence to the world.  That is our mission as Catholics in the world, and that is certainly our mission locally as Catholics in Centerville and Hilltop Lakes.

Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061514.cfm

The Most Holy Trinity:

Love in Mystery

Awhile back, I was meeting with all the candidates for First Holy Communion and Confirmation to see how well they were prepared for these Sacraments of Initiation.  At some point in the conversation, I asked each youth, “So, do you have any questions for me?”  One little girl — who did fairly well — took me up on the question: “One thing I still don’t understand. . . How is God three Persons but just one God?”  And of course I gave the classic answer:  “Well, it’s just a mystery.”  You may think this is kind of a patronizing response, but even the greatest theologians said ultimately God is mystery.  Even more a mystery is how God can both be One and Three.  There is a story that one day St. Augustine was walking along the seashore and had a vision of a young boy trying to scoop up the whole sea and put it in a hole in the sand.  When he asked the child why he was attempting the impossible, the child replied that Augustine was trying something even more difficult: explaining the mystery of the Trinity.

Even though the Most Holy Trinity is a mystery — the greatest Mystery of our Catholic faith — it does not mean that we cannot say anything about how God is both One and Three.  The Catholic Church has formulated the language that even Protestant Christians use when speaking about God.  God has one divine substance, but He is three Persons.  St. Patrick used the shamrock to demonstrate this, yet this image still falls short.  The real problem is our imagination (as Frank Sheed correctly highlights in his masterpiece Theology and Sanity).  Imagination is helpful when meditating on the gospels, but it gets in the way when we try to comprehend the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God.  When we think of three Persons, we cannot help thinking of three separate beings.  Yet, God is one Being consisting of three distinct (not separate) Persons.

You may be sitting in the pew right now thinking that this is all fine and dandy, but what does this have to do with my everyday life?  Well, the fact that God is relationship in se, and we are made in His image and likeness (Gn 1:26) says a great deal about life itself.  The Catechism says that we as human persons are social by our nature because God is social by His nature.  Why do you think the Two Greatest Commandments are to love God and love our neighbor?  It is because God Himself is a relationship of Love; the Love between Father and Son is the Holy Spirit; and God wants us to love as He loves.  Today’s solemnity (like Pentecost Sunday) is just one more reminder that the love we should have as Catholic Christians is not just some abstract warm feeling, but a real Person.  Our love must be the Love of Father and Son.  And while we will never perfectly achieve this kind of love in this life, we must be committed to this kind of Love with the help of this Love until the end of our lives.

The Second Greatest Feast of the Liturgical Year

Sunday's Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060814-day-mass.cfm

When we think of the times the church is most full, we think of Christmas and Easter (or Guadalupe for the Hispanics!).  But today’s celebration of Pentecost should be up there among the most well-attended Masses during the liturgical year.  Why?  Because in the hierarchy of the Church’s feasts, Pentecost is second only to Easter.  (Most people think Christmas is second to Easter, but interestingly Epiphany and Pentecost are considered more important feasts than Christmas.)  So, why is the church not as full today as at Christmas and Easter?  Maybe because we have forgotten the importance of the Holy Spirit — that He is not just some vague force — but that He is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity.  Just as at Christmas we celebrate the eternal Son of God becoming flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so Pentecost is a celebration of the Holy Spirit taking flesh in the Body of Christ — the Church — in us as His members at work in the world.

In the Nicene Creed on Sundays, we say: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.”  What does it mean that the Holy Spirit “gives life”?  Yes, of course we owe our biological life to God, and the Holy Spirit is intimately connected with creation (see Genesis 1).  However, we know that the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural life.  He is, in Himself, grace!  So, what does this have to do with real life?  The answer is: Everything.  God’s commandments to love, to grow in virtue, to be holy are not just nice directives for us to remember, but He gives us Himself through the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words and actions in real life.  Yes, we still have temptations.  And yes, we still sin.  But it does not mean the Holy Spirit is not present in our lives; and it does not mean the Holy Spirit is not there to assist us in our daily struggles with the world, the flesh, and the devil.  (Remember: Our choices to commit evil are just that — our choices!).

Hopefully, you prayed for a special grace or favor during the past nine days — a gift of the Holy Spirit.  If not, why not ask Him today to “set you on fire” with your Catholic faith?  If you are bored or lukewarm in your faith, it is only because you want to be!  We do not have to stay there, though.  Our Lord wants us to be saints – holy ones – and the ultimate tragedy in this world is to not to have been a saint.  Ask the Holy Spirit to make you holy today: holy in our little Catholic community; holy in your family; holy in your marriage; a holy one who will bring the Light of Christ to a world that desperately needs it.  Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Amen.