2/2/2014 – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Luke 2:22-32, Malacai 3: 1-4

     Today, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, rather than the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, since this feast falls on a Sunday this year.  The Gospel of Luke records the way Mary and Joseph were faithful to God’s laws given to the Jewish people.  For all firstborn males, the mother of the child was required to refrain from all religious ritual practices for 40 days after the birth.  Then, she was required to offer a sacrifice to the Lord to give thanks for the birth of her child.  The normal sacrifice would be a lamb and a turtledove, but if the mother was poor, she could offer up instead a pair of turtledoves or young pigeons.  Mary and Joseph offer up 2 turtledoves, emphasizing that Jesus was born to a family of poor, simple people of deep faith.  This sacrifice made for the first-born Jewish son was done in memory of how God saved the firstborn of the Jews during the Passover in Egypt. The purification of the mother and the sacrifice for the firstborn son was not required to be in the Temple. However, Mary and Joseph wanted to fulfill all the prescriptions of the Jewish law in Temple in Jerusalem, where it becomes the means of offering the Son of God to the Father who sent him to us to be our Redeemer and our Savior. 

     The baby Jesus who was presented in the Temple by his parents is the messenger of the covenant whom the prophet Malachi foretold in our first reading.  The faith of Mary and Joseph brought them to the Temple that day to present their Son to God, to consecrate him to God in a special way.  The Spirit of the Lord led Jesus and his parents that day.  They were filled with the Spirit in a special way.  In Mexico, Catholics have a special tradition inspired by the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, as the parents present their child to the Lord in a mass, usually when the child is around 3 years old.  This presenting of a child to God, and to the faith community in the Church, stems from the parents’ desire to ask for divine protection for their child, and in thanksgiving for a safe childbirth.   In Mexico and a lot of other countries throughout the world, infant mortality rates are extremely high.  This custom began because parents wished to give thanks to God and the Virgin Mary for the survival and ongoing good health of their child.  Today, in our parish, members of our Hispanic community here at St James will present their 3 years old at mass in honor of this special feast day. The presentation is not one of the 7 Sacraments we recognize in our Church, but it is a special tradition by which these members honor God and live out their faith. 

      Today’s feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple often is referred to as “Candlemas” from Simeon’s prophecy in the Gospel that the baby Jesus being presented in the Temple would be a light of revelation to the Gentiles and glory for the people of Israel.  This is why we blessed the candles that we use in our Church in the beginning of mass today, why we asked parishioners to bring candles from home in order to be blessed.  We can see the light of these candles symbolizing the light of God living within us and manifesting itself in our good faith, good works, and good deeds.

      It is important for us to celebrate our Catholic traditions, to celebrate the ways of the faith that help lead us and guide us on our journey.  Last weekend at our youth CCD classes, a couple of the youth asked me why we have saints in our Church and why we celebrate them in a special way.  I tried to use an analogy that our children and youth might understand.  Think about the heroes we have in our lives when growing up, the people who represent to us the values we hold important.  I have this picture of Abraham Lincoln that my dad put up in my bedroom when I was born, a picture that was hanging up in my dad’s own bedroom when he was growing up.  I also had a Chicago Cubs pennant hanging up in my room as well – my parents and grandparents absolutely loved the Chicago Cubs.  The Church sees the saints as heroes of the faith for us, and more than that, a community of saints that helps us and guides us through its prayers and intercessions.  In conjunction with the candles that we blessed at the beginning of mass today, we are having the traditional blessing of the throats in honor of St Blaise, a saint whose feast day we celebrate on February 3 each year.  Blaise was a medical doctor who lived in the early 4^th century. When the Bishop of Sabastea in present-day Armenia died, Blaise was named to follow him as Bishop due to his great reputation for holiness, both in word and in example.  During a time of great persecution, Blaise was arrested and was being carted off to be put to death. While being led away, a distraught mother, whose only child was choking on a fishbone, threw herself at his feet and implored his intercession. Touched at her grief, Blaise offered up his prayers, and the child was cured.  Consequently, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat, which is why we have this special blessing today.

     We recently ended our Year of Faith, in which we were called not only to a new evangelization, but we were called to celebrate the traditions and devotions of our Catholic heritage.  As we celebrate the faith of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the feast of the Presentation of the Lord today, as we celebrate the example of faith that St Blaise lived in his life of holiness, may we all be inspired to live lives of faith in our own reality in a way that gives glory to God. 

Away for the week in Indianapolis -

Those who know me well, know that it is hard for me to break away from my duties as a priest and to take some time off.  I did not get much of a break over the Advent and Christmas season, so I made reservations on the Megabus several months ago to arrange to travel to Indianapolis this week to spend some time with friends.  The cancellation of the Megabus trips for several days almost derailed my trip before it got started, but I decided to get into my little blue Honda Fit to make it up to the Hoosier state. I am having a great visit up here, and it looks like the weather will cooperate with my when I make my way back to Tupelo this Friday.  Even Jesus got away and rested - it feels so good to be away and to relax for awhile.  I will be posting the weekend homilies soon.

1/26/2014 – 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 1 Corinthians – 1:10-13, 17

I had posted a homily earlier for this upcoming Sunday, the third Sunday in Ordinary TIme.  However, in reflection, I decided to write another homily on the second reading, with Paul addressing division within the community in Corinth.  

      We have some wonderful readings today, and in fact, originally I had written a homily for this weekend focusing on the 1^st reading from Isaiah and the Gospel from Matthew, but then parishioner told me that I had a great opportunity to focus as a homilist on the 2^nd reading today, since it seemed very relevant to some things going on in our parish.  Last Sunday, we heard the very beginning of the first letter Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, as he told that community that they were sanctified in Christ, that they were called to holiness. Today, only a few verses further in the letter, we hear how this community was divided in a very tragic way.  In the first Century in the Ancient Mediterranean world, it mattered very much who you identified with – the family and tribe you belonged to; the power, wealth, and prestige attached to your family group; and the city you belonged to with its own laws and privileges.  Unity was found in the ancient world as one banded together against the neighboring family, city, and nation.  Thus, there would be differences and diversity in the community at Corinth, but Paul did not believe that those differences should cause division and discord when we belong to the one Body of Christ – that those differences are not what should bring us identity when we are united in Christ. When he wrote to another community – to the Church at Galatia – he told them that those differences did not matter, whether they be Greek or Jew, slave or free, circumcised or uncircumcised, male or female. To the Corinthians, however, Paul sees them claiming identity to different factions – to Paul, to Apollos, to Cephas. The Corinthians used these difference to divide, to label, to quarrel amongst each other.  Being members of the Body of Christ does not eliminate our differences, that’s for sure, but it puts them in a new context and a new light. Paul is not saying that we all need to be identical.  He later tells the faithful that God gives us different gifts, callings, and personalities that we all can use for the glory of God.  And that is the key – that we work together – that we use our differences to enrich our community and to make disciples rather than to divide, hurt, or quarrel.   

     This weekend actually ends a week-long commemoration that we have in our Catholic Church in which we pray for Christian Unity. We now all too well how Christianity is divided into different denominations and groups. We see this division even within our Catholic Church.  There is a joke that says one of the things God doesn’t know is how many different groups of Franciscans there are running around in the world. Also, Saturday of this weekend we celebrate the feast of the conversion of St Paul. While Paul had once been a terrible persecutor of Christians, he later became the passionate Apostle of the Gentiles, with the wish to see all brought to the table of Christ. However, we know all too well that Paul his disagreements with Peter, the leader of the band of Apostles.  Yet, Peter and Peter worked with each other; they worked together despite their differences to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world.  Today, we pray that all of the different Christian denominations might one day become one.  And yet, to work for Christian unity throughout the world, we work not only with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the different Christian denominations in our city of Tupelo, but we begin by working for unity and solidarity right here in our parish of St James.  Our community here at St James is blessed with a great diversity in many different forms - diversity in cultural and ethnic groups, diversity in life experience and socio-economic groups, diversity of gifts, interests, and personalities.  You will hear different theological points-of-view here from different members of our parish.  Some of them might even seem daring or shocking compared to your own point-of-view.  The important thing is treat each other with dignity and respect in whatever conversations and discussions we have, with the Agape love and compassion that Pope Francis calls us to have when we reach out to others in faith.  The different voices in our parish – the different voices we have in our Church -  contribute to the diversity that characterizes the unity we have as Catholics, as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us never forget this, no matter how passionate we are about our own point-of-view.  Perhaps by hearing a point of view different than our own and engaging in these theological conversations in a healthy and positive way, our own faith may be enriched in a very profound way.  

     Paul asked the people of Corinth to transcend their differences to celebrate the unity they have in Christ, to be directed to the same mind and same purpose.  We are to unite to be missionaries for Christ, to proclaim his Gospel, to make disciples.  Division is to be avoided because Christ has called us together, into a body, to accomplish God's purpose in the world.

1/26/2014 – 3rd Sunday ordinary time – Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Matthew 4:12-23

      Sometimes, when we hear a passage from Scripture, with certain names and locations, we might not know what its trying to tell us.   From Isaiah, a reading that’s quoted in today’s Gospel, we hear of the lands of Zebulun & Naphtali, of how they were filled with darkness.  As ancient Israel gained wealth and prestige, many of its leaders tried to make alliances with foreign lands, often taking them away from God.  Zebulun and Naphtali were 2 of the original tribes of Israel; they were among the first lands in Israel to fall to foreign powers.  Due to their location in the northern kingdom, they were subjected to many power struggles with their neighboring states, culminating in their exile by the Assyrians in the year 722 BCE. 

      For a people who had turned away from God on many occasions, who had been conquered by oppressive foreign powers & subjected to hunger, brutality, and slavery, we can imagine it would be difficult to have hope in this darkness that seemed to have no end.   Yet, Isaiah announces that God is there for them as a shining light.  Isaiah sees the light of God as a present reality, even in the midst of problems & struggles, taking away their anguish & dispelling darkness.  Isaiah called the people to repent & to trust in God, reassuring them that God’s power has brought light to their dark world.

       This passage is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew, showing Jesus as the fulfillment of the light that God has brought to his people.  There are many ways we Catholics experience the light of Christ in our world: in God’s holy word, in the Holy Eucharist, in the way we see God in our interactions with others, and in works of mercy and justice.  When the priest or Eucharistic minister proclaims “the body Christ” to us as we receive the host, Christ comes into our lives, nourishing our bodies & our souls in a special way.   We receive the light of the Body of Christ – we become the light of the Body of Christ.  As a seminarian, I remember the rector of our seminary telling us seminarians that we must foster a deep devotion in our hearts to the Eucharist & to the presence of Christ that is there in order to make it through any difficulty or struggle that we might encounter as priests.  And I can testify that my devotion to the Eucharist has indeed helped me many difficult times as a priest and as a lay missionary.

      But we have to do more than experience the light of Christ in the Eucharist and within our liturgy.   We must take the light of Christ out into our world – we must truly live the Eucharist & all that it means to us as Catholics.   In our society today, many look down at organized religion and at our Catholic faith, seeing us as being out of touch with society and not relevant to what is going on in people’s lives.  It’s common for many young people in our modern world to say that they’re spiritual but not religious, implying that belonging to an organized religion is a bad thing, and implying that being spiritual does not really have a strong relationship with being religious.  However, many of these statements are made out of ignorance.  Our Catholic faith tries to be very relevant to what is going on in our world today; it tries to dialogue with our secular world and to have an impact on our world on many different levels. Look at Pope Francis and how much interest his words and his example have been generating, even with people who are not particularly religious.

      Look at the words Jesus uses when he calls his first disciples out of their daily lives  - “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.   It is interesting the words Jesus uses.   He doesn’t tell them he will make them “proclaimers of God’s holy word” or “emissaries of God’s kingdom.”  He doesn’t tell them that they will become “disciples of the Messiah” or “heralds of Good News.”  He tells them that they will be “fishers of men”.  He puts them in direct relationship with their brothers and sisters – he calls them to evangelize and to call others to the faith.

      Recently, some of us in the parish have been reading this book called – Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church.  It is the story of a Catholic parish outside of Baltimore that details a 10-year journey of trying to engage people as disciples of Christ.  According to this book, the parish decided that a primary goal it has is to form disciples of the faith, to help its members live out their vocation as disciples.  It is an interesting book that I have been reading along with members of our parish council, our staff, and some couples I have met with. How are we being fishers of men at our parish?  And how do we live out our vocation as Christ’s disciples?  Do we see ourselves primarily in our secular vocation in life, whatever it may be – as a teacher or doctor, as a nurse or a banker, as a lawyer or police officer?  Or does each one of us here see ourselves as a disciple of Christ as a vocation we are living out in our daily lives, as a fisher of men for Christ?  Jesus calls us as his disciples, just as he called Simon and Andres, just as he called James and John. Do we hear that call in our lives?  And how are we responding?

1/24/2014 – Friday of 2nd week of Ordinary Time - Samuel 24:3-21 –

       As we hear our continuing story from the first book of Samuel, we hear about David having the opportunity to kill Saul as Saul enters the cave where David is hiding. Saul is intent on killing David himself when he enters that cave.  The mercy that David showed to Saul when he had the chance to kill him brings to mind how often revenge and vengeance are main motivators in our society today.  Especially when I was teaching high school students in Greenville, I realized how revenge and saving face drove how they lived their lives and viewed the world.  Many of these students would have been unable to show the restraint that David displayed in cutting off the end of Saul's garment and then pointing out to Saul that he could have easily killed him.  Yet, even if David had not confronted Saul and had simply allowed Saul to walk out of the cave unharmed without saying a word, the Lord would have known the reality of the situation, and in the end, it is the Lord who judges us and no one else.

         How do we treat those with whom we don't get along?  Who do we consider our enemies?  These are perhaps good questions we can ask ourselves in light of the story we hear about David and Saul this morning.  A couple of days ago, we recognized a day that was declared a day of penance by our US bishops in recognition of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in our country.  When I was in Jackson serving at St Richard, I used to attend a candlelight vigil service at the state capitol building centered around this anniversary in order to stand witness to what is still going on in our country today regarding abortion. May we use God's mercy and love to be a witness for life in our world as we advocate and to stand up for God's laws and commandments. 

1/23/2014 – Thursday of 2nd week in Ordinary Time – 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7

           We are in the weeks of ordinary time in between the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent.  We have been hearing the story of David and Saul in the book of 1 Samuel this past week.  We just heard about David slaying Goliath yesterday.  Today, we hear about Saul’s jealousy against David, because of the great love and admiration the people have for him.  Saul, in a fit of rage and jealousy, expresses his desire to kill David.  Jonathan, Saul’s son, intervenes on David’s behalf.  You might think that it would be risky for David to trust Jonathan, to trust Saul’s own son, yet at this point in the tale, things seem to work out.  We also sometimes need intercessors as well.  The Church teaches us that the intercessory prayers of the saints, the martyrs of the faith, and the Blessed Virgin Mary are all very helpful in guiding us and leading us along our journey of faith.  I really love learning about the saints, about their teachings and sayings and spirituality, as they encourage me and edify me along my faith journey. May we thank the Lord today for those intercessors who help us along our way. 

1/22/2014 – Wednesday of 2nd week in Ordinary TIme – 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

        Today, we hear the familiar story of David and Goliath.  Goliath is a professional warrior who has confidence in himself and in his abilities.  When Goliath sees David approach him, he curses David in the name of his gods and describes how he is going to destroy him and leave his flesh for the wild animals to eat.  David, on the other hand, came into this meeting having confidence that the Lord would protect him and keep him safe.  David tells Goliath that he comes against him in the name of the Lord of hosts, in the name of the God of the armies of Israel whom Goliath has insulted.  While David has confidence in God, he also does his part.  He doesn't just sit back and let God do all the work. David had work to do as well.

         David went into battle with Goliath without the armor that the ancient warriors wore into battle because it would not fit him. He went into battle without the weapons an ancient warrior would traditionally use. Instead, he brought stones and a sling that a shepherd in ancient Israel would normally carry to protect his flock.  Many times, we also go through our journey of faith feeling vulnerable and ill equipped, but we need to trust in the Lord when we follow his path and his will in our lives. 

         When we approach goals and problems in life, do we see God's presence and will in what we are undertaking? Nothing is impossible for God, but when we try to take matters in our own hands and ignore God's will and God's path for us in our lives, we will realize that we cannot do it alone and on our own initiative no matter what the battle is. 

1/21/2014 – Tuesday of 2nd week in Ordinary Time – 1 Samuel 16:1-13 –

        God has rejected Saul as the king of Israel due to his recalcitrance.  God sends Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem, telling Samuel that he has chosen the new king of Israel from among Jesse's sons.  Samuel takes a look at one of Jesse's sons, Eliab, and Samuel is certain that he is the one whom God has chosen.  However, this is the response God gives to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him.  Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance, but the LORD looks into the heart.” 

            One thing I have learned so much about as a priest is that we think we can know someone's situation from what we ourselves observe and from the outward appearance, but what is going on in someone's heart can be so completely different.  In our society, we can get so caught up into looking at what's on the outside, to the externals that we see.  And that can be true of ourselves as well.   We are conditioned in our society to make everything look good on the outside, to give a good appearance to the world, to try to get others to think well of us.   But, when we come down to it, it does not matter what everyone else thinks or what our appearance is.  What matters is what God sees and what God knows is going on in our hearts. 

            So, God chose David, a young man whom Samuel and the world thought to be an unlikely choice for king.  May we not be quick to judge by outside appearance.   May we cultivate virtue & integrity in our hearts & not be so concerned with some of the superficiality of outward appearance alone that can occupy so much of our time. 

1/26/2014 – el tercer domingo del tiempo ordinario – Mateo 4, 12-23

      ¿Vivimos una vida con claridad?  ¿O, vivimos en tinieblas?   En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús viajó a Galilea, la parte más remota de su país y la más lejana de Jerusalén.  Alli, Jesús comenzó a proclamar el cumplimiento del profeta Isaías – la luz ha llegado al pueblo que vivía en oscuridad, que vivía en tinieblas. 

      Cada uno de nosotros sabemos que la vida de cada ser humano tiene momentos de oscuridad, momentos de dolor y de sufrimiento.  Muchos de los grandes místicos de nuestra Iglesia, como Santa Teresa de Avila, San Juan de la Cruz, y la Bendita Madre Teresa de Calcuta, han pasado por noches oscuras que, aunque purificadoras, siempre tenían una gran carga de dolor.  En medio de la oscuridad en nuestra vida, Jesús es capaz de vernos con una profunda claridad.  Pero esta relación con Cristo requiere un esfuerzo y sacrificio por la parte de nosotros.  Con la vida nueva que tenemos en Cristo, una vida nueva que empezó en las aguas del bautismo, podemos tener claridad en medio de la oscuridad de nuestra vida.  Para nosotros, los seres humanos, muchas veces no queremos ver la realidad de nuestra vida ni la presencia de Dios en ella. Si no tenemos la presencia de Dios con nosotros, si no tenemos la luz de Cristo en nuestra corazón, las sombras de nuestras experiencias pueden ser "sombras de muerte". Con la luz de Cristo, podemos ser más humano.  En la luz de Cristo, podemos crecer en nuestra humanidad, en nuestra  espiritualidad, en nuestra mentalidad.

      Una de las grandes tragedias de la vida humana es quedar en los momentos de tinieblas y no encontrar los senderos de luz.  Cuando trabajaba con los prisioneros en las cárceles de Mississippi, cuando trabajaba como misionero con las prostitutas, los drogadictos, y las personas viviendo en las calles como misionero, yo encontraba mucha gente que no podía escapar la oscuridad de sus vidas, aunque ellos se daban cuenta de esta realidad.  Jesús proclamó el reino de Dios en su ministerio, pero para entrar en su reino, tenemos que convertirnos para que la luz llegue a nuestra vida. Convertirse es cambiar de la mentalidad para adquirir los criterios de Dios, pero necesitamos estar dispuestos a realizar los cambios en nuestra vida.  Muchas veces, por miedo o por comodidad, preferimos quedar en los dolores y los sufrimientos de nuestra vida.  Cuando Cristo comenzó a predicar su Buena Nueva del Reino de Dios, comenzó también a reunir discípulos.  Ellos le seguían porque se fían de su palabra. Nuestra vida cristiana no se basa en el ver milagros sino en confiar plenamente en Aquel que puede hacerlos.

     Nuestro Evangelio de hoy termina con la curación de enfermos.  Esta curación no es solamente la física sino también la espiritual.  Estamos llamados a la curación integral de nuestra vida.  Estamos llamados a la conversión.  Con eso, podemos continuar en nuestro camino de fe.