The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Today, August 15th, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Normally it would be a Holy Day of Obligation but since it falls on a Saturday this year, it is not a day of obligation, but it is still an important day.

The gospel reading for today is the story of the Visitation as told in Luke 1:39-56.  As Mary learns of her own pregnancy she also learns that Elizabeth is pregnant and she goes to share her joy.

This all happens right after the Annunciation (Luke 1:28-38) when the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her she is to be the mother of Jesus.  Mary says “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.”  This is the gospel reading used on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

The Immaculate Conception marks the beginning of Mary’s life on Earth as she is conceived in her mother’s womb.  Because God knew she would say yes to being the mother of Jesus, God saw that she was conceived without sin.  That is the beginning on Mary’s life on Earth.  Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary that comes at the end of her earthly life.  When it came time for her to pass from this world, Jesus immediately assumed her into Heaven.  He did this for Mary as his mother but also for her example of what it means to be disciple.

The second half of the gospel reading for today for today is known as the Magnificat.  It is Mary’s prayer of praise given in response to Elizabeth words of praise.  Mary starts off, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”  Viewed in isolation this sentence might seem boastful but we need to understand it in response to what Elizabeth has said.  Mary is acknowledging that her soul shines forth with the presence of Jesus in her woman but then she goes onto say that it is because God has looked on her, His lowly servant, with favor and blessed her.

Mary does not end with how God has blessed her.  She goes on to say how God has blessed all His people, showing the strength of his arm,… he has lifted up the lowly, he has come to the help of his servant Israel.”

Mary recognizes the great things God has done for her and for all people and so she praises Him.  Do we recognize God as the source of our blessings and do we respond in praise and thanksgiving?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30:5-2
John 6:41-51
August 9, 2015

Elijah is tired and worn out.  How many of us have felt the same way at times?

In Elijah’s case he is serving as a prophet of the Lord in a time when people have turned away from God and didn’t want to listen to a true prophet.  The people had fallen into worship of the false God Baal.

Elijah had fought against 450 prophets of Baal and, by God’s power, they were defeated.  Jezebel the queen was angry at this and sought to have Elijah killed.  Elijah heard of this and fled in fear.

He is tired of the persecution he has faced and of living in fear for his life.  He comes to a broom tree exhausted and wants to give up.  “This is enough” he says but the Lord has others plans.

The Lord still has work for Elijah to do.  He knows Elijah is tired and exhausted.  He knows the sacrifices that Elijah has made.  He knows how hard Elijah has tried.

Does the Lord let Elijah retire?  How about at least a vacation?  No!  There is still work to be done but the Lord knows if Elijah is to continue as a prophet, he will need strength so the Lord sends an angel with a “hearth cake and a jug of water.”  Elijah is strengthened and travels forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God.

Again, do we feel exhausted like Elijah?  Do we want to quit?  The Lord had fed the Israelites in the desert with manna.  The Lord fed Elijah with the hearth cake.  Jesus fed the multitudes with five barley loaves and two fish.  The Lord strengthens us with the Bread of Life.

What Jesus feeds us with is no ordinary bread.  What starts as bread and wine is transubstantiated into Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Seen as ordinary bread, it feeds us for a few hours at best.  Seen as true bread from Heaven, it gives us life so that we might never die.

This can be hard to grasp.  It’s a reality that people die.  Otherwise, why have I done six funerals in the last four weeks and two more on Monday?

The life we receive from the Eucharist is eternal life that helps us through this world towards the next.  It is offered for us each week (in fact each day) as we celebrate Mass.  Do we recognize what it is that we receive?  Do we cherish it and seek it each week?  We all share in the mission to spread the gospel.  The Eucharist strengthens us to do our part.

It is the Bread of Life that gives eternal life.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35
August 2, 2015

The Israelites were grumbling.  They were concerned that they could find nothing to eat in the desert.  A legitimate concern, but how soon they forgot how they came to the desert.  God had set them free from Egypt. Did they think God would abandon them in the desert?

Of course, God heard their cry for food and provided.  He sent down bread from Heaven.  They had plenty of bread and quail to eat but they were to gather only their daily portion.

God did all this way “so that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”  God did this so they would know they could trust Him.

Moving ahead several centuries, last week we heard how Jesus had feed a great multitude of people with just five barley loaves and two fish and there was more left over than they started with.

Now, great crowds are coming to him.  Why?  As Jesus says, “you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”  The physical feeding was important but this was more than that.

Jesus wants us know what the true bread from Heaven is.  He is.

Is Jesus concerned about our physical hunger?  Absolutely, but He is even more concerned about our spiritual hunger.  Jesus didn’t just give the people food to eat for one meal.  He gave us faith to know that God will always provide.

Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life” and that if we come to Him we will never hunger or thirst.  If we see Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 as only about earthly bread, it would seem impossible that we would never hunger or thirst again.  That should lead us to realize Jesus is speaking about something more here.  When we come to Jesus our heart and souls will be filled.

For us, we receive the Bread of Life in the form of the Eucharist we will celebrate here today.  We each will receive one tiny piece of bread.  It’s thin and only 1 ¼ inches in diameter but it gives us so much.

We might often think more is better, but when it comes to the Eucharist, we don’t need a plate full, just our daily portion.  We do need to keep coming back to be renewed in Jesus.

Think of the words we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “give us this day our daily bread.”  It doesn’t say give us as much as we want.  We take what we need for today and trust in God for tomorrow.  We need to come each week to receive the Bread of Life to always remain in Jesus.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 4:1-6
John 6:1-15
July 26, 2015

The events of our first reading happen in a time of drought so food was scarce and people were hungry.  The man presents twenty barley loaves to Elisha the prophet.  Elisha directs him to give it to the people.

There are one hundred people present so the man says “How can I set this before a hundred people”.  Elisha insists and says there will even be some left over and there is.

Impressive task made possible by God’s grace at work through Elisha.  It would show the people that God cared and would provide for them.

A few centuries later, Jesus comes to the people.  Great crowds were coming to Him because of the signs he had been doing, healing people.

As Jesus looks out at the people He sees a need.  He knows they are hungry.  He also knows how many people are there and what it would take to feed them all.

He turns to ask Philip “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”  Phillip responds by saying that “two hundred days wages” would not be enough to get enough food for all them.  He sees it as an impossible task.

Andrew, on the other hand, says, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many?”  In human terms, you can’t find that many people with five loaves and two fish but it shows hope on the part of Andrew.  Could there be something Jesus could do?

Of course Jesus can help.  Jesus has them sit down and every single person receives enough to eat and there is some left over.  In fact, there is more left over than they started with.

God provides in abundance.

Food is important.  If you tell a starving person that God loves them and then leave them to starve, they aren’t likely to believe you but physical food is not all that God offers.  In our psalm today we hear “The hand of the Lord feeds us, he answers all our needs.”

Jesus feeds the five thousand but that was not the end.  This passage marks the beginning of what is known as “The Bread of Life Discourse.”  Jesus will go on to speak more about the bread that we truly need.  Starting today, we spend five weeks hearing this discourse to help us understand how Jesus is the Bread of Life for us that we receive in the Eucharist.

We will talk more about the Real Presence in the coming weeks but for today I think we would deal to think about today’s psalm verse.  Jesus feeds us.  What does it mean for Jesus to feed us?  Jesus answers all our needs.  What do we see as our “needs”?  What type of need comes to mind first?  Food?  Clothing?  How about faith?

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34
July 19, 2015

Last week we heard Jesus send out the Twelve.  This week they report back and He tells them to take some time to rest.

It’s important to realize they didn’t go out on their own never to return.  They came back to Jesus to check in.  He tells them to rest.  We need rest to keep ourselves centered on what we are supposed to be doing.

But they can’t rest!  Why?  Because the people kept coming to them in such great numbers that Jesus and the Apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

Why?  What is it that the people are looking for?  What is it they “want”?

Jesus is moved with pity for them “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”  They wanted direction in their lives.  They wanted someone to tell them what is right and wrong so Jesus “began to teach them.”

This might seem odd in our world today where people speak of freedom as being able to do whatever we want.  However, we must realize our need for leadership.

God had appointed leaders for the people but many were failing in their duties.  As Jeremiah says, “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock.”

In the days of Jeremiah the shepherds spoken of were the kings, called by God to lead the people.  Today, with separation of church and state, many no longer see the government leaders as appointed by God.  Instead they are serve our needs and wants.  In the Church, the shepherds are the bishops, priests, and administrators.  In our homes, it is the parents.

It isn’t easy to lead.  How often do we question the motives of those in leadership positions?  How often do leaders act out of their own self-interest?  How often do they do what we want?  How often do they do what God wants?

We are human and we each have our own opinion.  We each have things we want.  We each have our own interest.  That shapes our own decisions and it shapes how we interpret the actions of others, including those in leadership positions.

We live in a very busy world.  There are too many things going on.  I know for me there are days where I feel like all I do is answer emails and phone calls.  These can be important but it can also make it hard to sit back and reflect.

Remember how Jesus told the Apostles to go away by themselves?  We cannot just keep “doing.”  Any of us, especially leaders, need to regularly be able to take the time to reflect on what is going on.  If we just keeping doing, we might make decisions about what is simplest or in our own interest but when we take time to reflect, we seek God’s will.  We realize we don’t have all the right answers.  For example, we’ve been working on the parish budget.  Collections haven’t kept up with expenses.  That’s means tough decisions, decisions I don’t want to make so I keep asking God what to do.

The 23rd Psalm begins “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall not want.”  Is there something you want?  There is something I want, to do God’s Will.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 
Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13
July 12, 2015

They say if you want to avoid controversy don’t talk about religion or politics. We need to talk about our faith but never to ruffle feathers but to speak the truth.

Amos has been speaking about the faith as a prophet.  Amos is from the southern king of Judah but he is preaching in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Both kingdoms are supposed to be of the same faith so one might suppose that Amos should be welcomed in the northern kingdom but he is not.

Amaziah, the priest in charge in the north, tells Amos to go back home to make his living.  Amaziah tries to send him away because he is saying bad things about the king and people who fail to practice the faith.  Amaziah assumes that Amos is like many of the prophets who seek to make a living as a prophet.  They might say whatever they think will get them paid the most.

Amos is not a prophet by trade.  He tells Amaziah that he used to be a shepherd and would be happy to return to that trade.  He is a prophet because the Lord has called him to this.  Called by the Lord, he speaks the truth.

Do we?

Jesus sends out the Twelve to share in His ministry.  His ministry is to heal and to preach.  Jesus does so by travelling from town to town.  While the Apostles follow him on His journeys, He does not go with a set itinerary.  He doesn’t look for luxurious accommodations.  He doesn’t hold onto money or food.  He trusts the Father will take care of Him and He teaches the disciples to do the same.  They are to take nothing on the journey.

Actually I think there is something they do take.  It’s not food or clothing.  What they take on the journey is faith, trust, and grace.

The Apostles were called to a very particular role.  It was not a job any of them applied for.  They were all chosen by God.  Were they perfect?  Nope!

God still chose them to be the Apostles just as God chooses us today.  None of us is perfect, myself included.  God knows our strengths and weaknesses better than we do.

Yet God still calls us to serve Him.  We might feel inadequate.  We might not really know what we should do.  We need to admit our failings.

There are times when I struggle to do what I preach.  When some people see that, their reaction can be ‘well Father says we need to be warm and welcoming but I see him having a bad day and not always be warm and welcoming.  Why should I listen to him?

I do fall short.  How do you think I know what people struggle with?  It’s because I struggle with some of the same things!

God calls each and every one of us to be a prophet but not all as people with years of theological training.  Being a prophet means sharing what our faith means to us.  It means acknowledging our own weaknesses to show others how we count on God.

Amos was called to be a prophet.  The Twelve were called to be apostles.  We are all called to share the faith.  One of the best ways to do this is to tell others why we know we need God in our own lives.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Ezekiel 2:2-5
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6
July 5, 2015

This weekend is, of course, our national holiday remembering the signing of The Declaration of Independence and how we came to be a free nation.

So this weekend we celebrate freedom.  In 1776, it was freedom from an oppressive government that was not concerned about the colonists.

We are entitled to our freedom.  It is the way things are meant to be.  The Declaration of Independence actually refers to what God entitles us to.  It speaks of how God, as our creator, gives us the right to life, liberty, and happiness.

With this comes must come freedom to choose.  God gives us free will to choose whatever we want.  Our society is taking that freedom for all its worth now, saying we cannot limit people’s right to freedom and hence to live however they want.

I think we need to ask ourselves, “do we make good use of our freedom”.

Leading up to the days of the Prophet Ezekiel, the people embraced the free will that God had given them to do whatever they wanted.  God let them.  It was their choice but in choosing not to live as God had taught them, they lost God’s divine protection and were defeated by their enemies.

Ezekiel was among taken into exile.  It was while Ezekiel was in exile that God calls him to be a prophet.  God described the people as rebels but yet God still sent them Ezekiel to once again offer God’s message to His people.

Some believe that all the freedom we have today points to society at the pinnacle of its existence.  That’s their view but I wonder if, instead of improving life, we are slipping away from God.

Look at what is happening.  I just saw a headline on Friday that said there is now a “mass killings” in the United States about once every two weeks with a school shooting about once a month.  I hope we all agree this is bad.  I hope there is no one who would argue that the people have the right to commit these shootings.

God does not want these things to happen but God allows them as consequences of our choices.  We indeed are free but we must realize there are consequences to the actions we commit in freedom.

Realizing how many bad things happen in the world on a regular basis, it should lead us to realize we don’t always realize make good choices.  How are we to make better choices?

The bad things should make us realize we are human and imperfect.  We are weak and it is in our weakness that Paul speaks of how we come to realize how much we need God.  We need God to help us make good choices and then to actually do what is good.

We need to let God in.  Today we hear how Jesus visited His hometown but did not perform mighty deeds there because the people thought they knew all about Him and did not faith to let Him into their lives.

The struggle with what to do with our freedom is not new.  The Bible contains numerous stories of people who did not follow God’s ways and what happened to them.  The Bible always contains God’s instructions on how we might live.  It isn’t always easy.  What the Bible teaches us about marriage, loving our enemies, and many others things is not popular today but it is what is best for us.  It is the divine order.  May we always choose to use our freedom to follow God.

The Church’s Teaching on Marriage

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On June 26th, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that two people of the same gender have the right to marry in our entire country.  Archbishop Kurtz, President of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishop (USCCB) immediately issued a statement describing the court’s decision as “a tragic error.”  The court’s decision is a legal decision, not a moral decision.

Like a lot of people I like to avoid controversy so I haven’t talked about the gay marriage but as I have said before, people may interpret our silence as agreement.  So, I feel I need to say something now.  I agree with the Church’s teaching that marriage is to be between a man and a woman.  This is what the Bible tells us as God’s Word from the very beginning when God created them male and female (Genesis 1:27).  It is also seen in nature how male and female complement one another physically (also emotionally and psychologically).

I could go into an extensive writing on what the Church teaches but instead I will provide some references from the USCCB and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Before I do that I want to make two very important points.

  1. A person is not a sinner simply because they experience same-sex attraction. The sin only comes when one acts out in sexual ways with a member of the same-sex.
  2. We may all know someone who is homosexual. That is not right or wrong.  It is simply a reality.  What is the saying?  ‘Hate the sin, love the sinner.’ We need to show love and compassion.  Think about the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).  The woman was caught in the very act of adultery so there was no question to her guilt.  Jesus does not condemn but neither does He say it is OK.  Jesus tells the woman “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.”

Here are some links on Catholic Church teaching about marriage and homosexuality.

We are all called to be chaste and to sin no more.  I think this is something for us to all pray that we offer a Christian response to this dilemma.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
Mark 5:21-43
June 28, 2015

Jesus heals both a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years and a twelve year old girl who “died.”  Only the girl died a physical death but the woman’s life was severely altered by the hemorrhaging.

There are the physical aspects of her illness that would have been bad enough alone but because she was hemorrhaging she would have been considered unclean and not allowed to have relations.  While she still lived, her life was, in a sense, still taken from her.

She had tried many doctors and spent all her money trying to find a cure.  There seemed to be no cure to be had but then she hears about Jesus.  In faith, she goes to Him and is healed, her life restored.

Likewise, the synagogue official’s daughter is very ill and dies.  Or does she?  Jesus restores her life.  Death may be inevitable but 12 years old is much too soon.

Death is a reality but we hear in our first reading that God created us to be “imperishable.”  How can we die and still be imperishable?

We need to look at what “death” means.  When we think of death, we think of an end.  Our bodies have grown tired and weak to the point of death.  After death our bodies decay.  None of this points to being “imperishable”.

We are not created only to live in this world.  There is eternal life to come in Heaven.  It is there that we will live as “imperishable beings” forever.

If we accept that there is eternal life after death in this world, it must change the way we live in the here and now.  It must affect our priorities.

We want to enjoy life in this world but to what extent?

We need a home, clothing, and food but to what extent?  What is our standard of living?  I like to say I live a simple life.  When I moved here three years ago this week, I brought everything I needed in two carloads.  I don’t have a lot and I like it that way.  That’s my simple life but recently I wonder how simple my life really is.  I have my tech gadgets (cell phone, tablet, and laptop).  Is this living simply?  I have and need a car but how nice a car?

I don’t eat fancy food but I do like to eat more than needed.

So maybe I don’t live as simply as I should but I find the simple life freeing.  The more we have, the more we need to take care of.  In trying to live simply I don’t have so many expenses.  I use the “free money” to help others by giving to the church and other charities.

Sometimes we might desire to live more simply but it seems too difficult.  We think we need to change all at once.  Sometimes we can but we can have commitments that we can’t change all at once.  We shouldn’t let that stop us from making little changes.

Even the little changes can be freeing and help us open ourselves to God.  What’s going on in your life that you would like to let go of to make room for God and eternal life?