2/11/2018 - homily for the 6th Sunday ordinary time – Mark 1:40-45; Leviticus 13:1-2, 46-48; Psalm 32:1-2, 5-11

        In today's readings, we hear very different responses to leprosy, a disease that was greatly feared in biblical times.  From Leviticus, we first hear of a very strict, law driven response to leprosy, aiming to protect the community from becoming infected from those afflicted.  Then, Jesus gives us a compassionate response that breaks through the barriers and prejudices of his society.  I wonder what these readings tell us about the Good News of Jesus, about how we are called to live out our faith?

         From Leviticus, we hear how the ancient Jews dealt with leprosy and other skin diseases that had no known cures.  These diseases were considered serious, not because they were highly contagious, but because the afflicted were seen as spiritually unclean and thus unfit to participate in religious rituals.  The priests would officially declare such a person unclean; he would be quarantined in order to protect the community.  In a community-based society such as ancient Israel, such a separation was very severe.  At the time of his greatest vulnerability, the leper would be deprived of community support.  A leper’s only regular social contact would have been with other lepers. 

         In Jesus' interaction with the leper today, we get a much different response. Under Jewish law, the leper should have been warning Jesus not to approach him. Yet, he kneels down and addresses Jesus as if in an act of worship, begging him: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” By interacting with Jesus, the leper risks incurring a very harsh punishment. Yet, he sees a goodness and authority in Jesus that surpasses the law. Rather than being shocked by the leper’s boldness, Jesus is moved by the trust the leper shows him.  Jesus' compassionate response is not sentimental; it rather brings hope to the hopeless, it nurtures those who wish to follow Christ in and helps to perfect the faith of those who confidently approach him. The shock of this encounter continues when Jesus reaches out and touches the leper.  I wonder if this leper had ever been touched with love in such a way before, if another human being had ever embraced him?

         We might ask ourselves as to why Jesus touched this leper in order to heal him, since Jewish law would have prohibited such an act.  Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus performs miracles with simply a word.  A wave of his hand would have done the trick, without Jesus having to touch the leper’s diseased skin.  Yet, Jesus touches him. He makes a point to touch him. He goes beyond what is necessary to physically touch the leper, this outsider, in an act flowing out of God's abundant love.

         Jesus' point of touching the leper reminds me of stories I heard about Eva Peron, the first lady of Argentina over 50 years ago. I heard these stories when I studied in Buenos Aires one summer. Coming from a humble family herself, Eva Peron as the first lady of Argentina would spend a great deal of time and energy in helping the poor.  In frail health herself, she did not hesitate to hug and even kiss many of the poor whom she met. She knew not only how much this meant to them, but also how much this contact meant to her.  One elderly man told me about his encounter with Evita when he was a young man, how she hugged him as she met him at a train station.  He had written to her to ask her to provide him a suit in which to get married.  A poor Argentine gaucho cowboy, this man had never had a nice set of clothing.  Evita did indeed give this man this suit, which his family still kept sealed in a plastic bag in a closet many decades later, even after this man’s death.  The family had tears in their eyes as they told me this story.  As human beings, we know how important our physical human touch is in reaching out to others.  Jesus as the incarnate Christ used this physical touch as an important part of his ministry. 

         A message for us to take away from today’s insightful readings is that when we discover Jesus at work through the Body of Christ present in our world today, we understand that there is no one who is outside the reach of God's mercy, that we are called the full realization of our human potential.  In deed, the Body of Christ calls out to empower all of us, especially those on the margins of society. The Good News of the Gospel is that there is no outsider in the eyes of God, as we are all one in Christ. In the powerlessness of the cross, Jesus has taken on the “otherness” of the outsiders in all forms; he calls us to do the same.

2/7/2018 – homily for Wednesday of 5th week in Ordinary Time – Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40; 1 Kings 10:1-10.

     The Queen of Sheba traveled to Ancient Israel from her home in either Arabia or Africa to meet Solomon.  She wanted to test him, having heard of his great wisdom.  Although she brought great gifts to him in order to honor him, she was awed by his wisdom and wealth, imparting a blessing on him.  The psalmist declares: “The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom and his tongue utters what is right. The law of God is in his heart.”  Perhaps this is what the Queen of Sheba saw in him.  The Queen of Sheba was a pilgrim and a seeker.  She was searching for knowledge and truth.  We all have that same calling.  We are all called to seek and search.   But,  it is important for us to recognize that wisdom is not something we encounter on our own – wisdom is indeed a grace we receive from God.  Through our pray life, through our experiences and our encounters with others, God speaks to us and imparts his wisdom to us.  And knowledge and wisdom are certainly not the same.  We can accumulate a lot of knowledge, but attaining the wisdom of God is something altogether different.  May we always be seekers.  May we always be pilgrims. 

2/5/2017 – homily for Monday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time – 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30

     For the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing about the first kings of Ancient Israel in our first readings.  We heard about how King Saul and King David became the first kings of Ancient Israel. Now, we hear about King Solomon, David’s son.  At the time of this reading. Solomon is now King and David is living out his final days.  David had planned on building a Temple in Jerusalem, but since he did not fulfill that task, it was left to Solomon. 

     Israel was warned about the dangers of having a king, but she was steadfast in her desire to be like the other nations around her.  I think of Bishop Joseph Kopacz here in the Diocese of Jackson, of the many expectations and hopes people have of him, even the personal expectations I myself have, of the great respect I have for him. We hear Solomon make a prayer of gratitude to the Lord as he speaks to the people of Israel who are assembled, similar to the prayer of gratitude Bishop Kopacz made to us when he was installed as Bishop.   I pray for Bishop Kopacz, for his leadership of our diocese.  We pray that God give him strength and courage as he leads us as a shepherd, as our bishop.

February 4 2018 - Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B - Mark 1:29-39

        Jesus has just left the synagogue after teaching the people there as one with authority, after curing a man possessed with an unclean spirit.  He enters the home of Simon Peter and Andrew, encountering Peter's mother-in-law, who is sick with a terrible fever.  This simple description from Mark’s Gospel of how Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law not only gives us insight into Jesus' ministry and his proclamation of God’s kingdom, but it tells us a great deal about how we are a part of Jesus' ministry as his followers, how living out the values of our faith can bring wholeness and healing not only to ourselves, but to others.

        When we get sick here in modern America, we go to the doctor or to a hospital if it is a serious illness, and get a prescription of medicine. Yet, when I worked as a missionary in rural Ecuador, far from a hospital and modern medicine, we often turned to a curandero for help, a traditional folk healer who often used physical touch, herbs, and other natural remedies to cure people from both physical and spiritual ailments. I remember one weekend I was visiting a small village deep in the jungle when I came down with a terrible fever. I felt like I was on fire. It really scared the family with whom I was staying. They called the village's folk healer, who gave me a boiling hot herbal mixture to drink. He then prayed over me and wrapped me up in wool blankets in order for me to sweat out the fever during night.  When I awoke the next morning, I was full of energy, like the fever never had happened.  

       The people of ancient Israel who heard this Gospel story would have been very familiar with the tradition of folk healers that was prevalent in their society, just like those I encountered in Ecuador.  The poor in Israel had easy access to such healers, who would lay their hands on the sick, using their touch to heal.  The ancient Jews saw these folk healers as brokers of the gift of healing from God. 

      In the healing stories told in the Gospels, Jesus does more than cure a physical illness.  When we are physically ill, it involves a loss of meaning in one's life either from a physical impairment or from the loss of function in life.  We can see that the fever that debilitated Peter's mother-in-law kept her from fulfilling her role as the mother of the household.  When Jesus heals her, she rises at once to serve her family and her visitors. 

       What implications does Jesus' healing of Peter's mother-in-law have for us today? Just as Jesus, the healer, restores meaning to the life of Peter's mother-in-law, he gives meaning to our lives, he heals us from our infirmities, he leads us away from the things that keep us from God.   But, beyond this, today's Gospel message challenges us to believe that we have the power to be a healing community of faith, to bring Christ’s to our lives and the lives of others.

        Jesus was present in incarnate form in ancient Israel, but he is still incarnate in our world today in curing the sick, in preaching the Good News, and in expelling demons from our lives.  Jesus does this through you and me, through the members of his Church who are now the Body of Christ here on earth.  If we, as a Church, truly live no longer for ourselves, but for Jesus and his people, then Jesus who lives in us will be free to continue his mission of healing and salvation to the world. 

       In the midst of our modern lives, our faith still calls us to Jesus.  St Teresa of Avila lived in the 16th century in Spain.  She is one of the greatest mystics who ever lived, yet, a prayer she wrote is very much rooted in our earthly presence, telling us how we can embody Christ, as Christ lives in us and our actions: “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet by yours.  Yours are his eyes through which Christ's compassion must look out on the world.  Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.  Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.”  As we do not live through our own power, we also do not bring healing or love to the world through our own power. 

Book Review - Secular Sanctity by Edward Hays

I have read several books by Father Edward Hays, who was a priest in the Diocese of Kansas City.  His books are very practical and very perceptive.  There is a book of blessings that he wrote, which I find to be a modern approach to the blessings found in the Catholic book of blessings.  His book Secular Sanctity is a book of essays of how the sacred intersects with the reality of our lives.  The first chapter was about how reading in a prayerful manner can enhance our journey of faith.  I really like the chapter on questioning, how we can either use questions in a manner a creative, inquisitive child asks a question to discover things on his journey of understanding and discovering life.  We are called to ask question in the spirit of how a mystic questions life.   There was also a chapter on being welcoming as a intrinsic part of our spirituality.  Jesus and his disciples depended upon hospitality as they traveled from village to village to proclaim the Good News, so hospitality became very important to the Early Church.   I will definitely go back to these chapters again to get ideas for homilies and reflections.  

Book Review - Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly

As a parish priest, I led a book review on Resisting Happiness in my parish.  The book was very well received by those who read it.  We got a deal where we received a lot of these books and gave them out to parishioners.  I have found that Matthew Kelly books have similar themes.  They are easy to read, with the flow of ideals and length of chapters very accessible.   The "best version of yourself" is a common theme in Matthew Kelly in his books.  Like the title, a lot of the book is how we put resistance in our own paths, thus hindering us on our journey of faith.  I would definitely use Matthew Kelly in a book study again, but perhaps after a while.  Next, we will be reading a biography of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. 

Prayers of the faithful - Conversion of St Paul - January 25 2018

Penitential Rite: 

Lord Jesus - you call us all to be missionary in Spirit - 

Christ Jesus - you call us to conversion of heart - 

Lord Jesus - you call us to be your presence in the world - 

Prayers of the Faithful: 

As Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, sends the word of light into a world of darkness to enlighten, to transform, to heal, and to save, with joy, we now present our prayers to God:  

Lord Jesus Christ, as you turned Saint Paul’s zeal for the faith of his ancestors into zeal for you, lead all Christians to the Way and the Truth:

Lord Jesus Christ, as you called Saint Paul out of darkness into light, enlighten all all those who hate and persecute: 

Lord Jesus Christ, as you sent St Paul to preach the good news to unbelievers: send all of us into the world  as missionaries, especially to the unconvinced, the indifferent, the unchurched.

Lord Jesus Christ, as you commissioned St Paul to bring new life to Jew and Gentile, man and woman, slave and free, speak the word of life and love to all who dwell apart from you and who are hostile to one another. 

For the sick and shut-ins, for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. 

For our personal intentions: 

As you called Saint Paul to preach the Gospel to all nations, help us to embody the power and zeal of the Gospel through which he preached. We present these prayers to you, thru your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  AMEN. 

2/2/2018 - Homily for the Feast of Presentation of the Lord - Friday – Luke 2:22-32

      It’s easy for us to forget that Jesus was raised in a devout Jewish household.  Mary and Joseph faithfully observed all of the prescribed rituals and obligations of their faith.  Forty days after Jesus’ birth, the Holy Family made the long journey to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the prescription of the Jewish law that obligated them to present Jesus to the Lord.  This law stated that “every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord”.  As prescribed by this law, Mary and Joseph presented the sacrificial offering of two turtledoves.

         It is touching for us to see how conscientiously and lovingly Mary and Joseph observed the Jewish faith traditions of their ancestors, even though these traditions demanded considerable inconvenience and sacrifice of them to make the arduous journey to Jerusalem.  Mary and Joseph taught Jesus well, as he carried out these Jewish faith traditions throughout his adult life and ministry, interpreting these traditions in the light of his identity as the Son of God. 

         It is important for us to note that for the Holy Family and for Jesus, there is no contradiction between their commitment to the prescribed Jewish rituals and their personal spirituality, their personal relationship with God.  As integral members of the Jewish faith community, the faith of Mary and Joseph was grounded in the ritual traditions of the Jewish people, rituals that sustained the community for generations. These same rituals sustained the Holy Family and passed on their Jewish faith to Jesus.  As Jesus grew up with Mary and Joseph, he had intimate contact with the Lord. 

         In our society, people often see a tension between being religious in a ritualistic sense and being spiritual, in devoting ourselves to the pious practices of our faith and obeying the laws of God requiring us to practice social justice and to reach out to our neighbor, especially the poor and the oppressed.  May we follow the example of the Holy Family that we celebrate today on the feast of the presentation of the Lord, may we have a balance faith that follows all of God’s laws and commandments.  

1/31/2018 –– Wednesday of 4th week in Ordinary Time - 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17

      David doesn't completely put his trust in God, so he takes a military census of the men in Israel in order to see if he has a force large enough to take into battle.  Before God has a chance to rebuke him, David realizes that he has sinned.  He repents and acknowledges the foolishness of his actions. Yet, he is forced to accept a punishment for what he has done.  It’s ironic that David wanted to take a census to determine the strength of a potential fighting force, and now due to his sinfulness and the sinfulness of Israel, those forces have been reduced by 70,000 men who were killed by pestilence. 

      We might recall the warning that the prophet Samuel gave to the people of Israel.  He warned them about their desire to have a king like the other nations around them, telling them that they would lose their property and their freedom.  The people got what was coming to them, as they disregarded the warnings from the Lord.  We also may think of the times that we blatantly and willingly disobey the will of God in our lives. We can put our trust in a lot of things, but we are called to put our trust in the Lord. 

1/30/2018 - Homily - Tuesday of 4th week in Ordinary Time – Mark 5:21-43

      A synagogue official comes to Jesus to get help for his sick daughter.  At the same time, a woman who had been sick for many years and who received no relief from the medical care she received reaches out to Jesus, believing that only touching his cloak will bring her relief.  Both of these individuals were very bold and provocative in reaching out to Jesus.  They reached out through barriers, fears, and any inadequacies they felt, reaching out in faith.  So often our fears can hold us back and immobilize us. The synagogue official’s fears are brought to reality when he is told that his daughter has died.   Yet Jesus’ response to him is the same response he gives to all of us: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”  The Buddhists have a saying: “A journey of 10,000 miles begins with one step.”  Sometimes having faith starts with that one little baby step, to step out of our fears and out of the darkness.  That’s all it takes.  Just one step. 

1/26/2018 - Homily – Memorial St Timothy and St Titus – 2 Timothy 1:1-8

      We celebrated the conversion of St Paul yesterday, on January 25.  Today we celebrate and honor St Timothy and St Titus, two companions of Paul who helped him in his missionary endeavors.   Just before Christmas, I went to Yazoo City to concelebrate a funeral mass and visited the historic Glenwood Cemetery. While I was there,  I passed by the graves of four members of the Sisters of Charity who died here in Yazoo City in the 1800s.  These nuns were teachers at the Catholic school that was founded by their order.  I remember reading an account stating that these nuns traveled from their home base in Kentucky to Yazoo City in a stage coach right after the Civil War.  When I served in Yazoo City as the pastor of the Catholic Community there, I often heard stories of those who remembered the sisters who taught at the school, of their dedication, sacrifice, and hard work. I often thought of how the Catholic community in Yazoo City was a fruit of all those who came before us.  

       As we celebrate the memorial of Timothy and Titus today, we wonder who these men were in the history of our faith. Timothy, Paul’s missionary companion, later became the administrator of the important Christian community in Ephesus, while Titus served the Church in Crete. 

         In Paul's letter of 2nd Timothy, he recalls the importance of the Holy Spirit in the gift of our faith, as well as how our faith has been passed down to us, with Timothy being greatly influenced by the faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. The faith of our fathers and mothers, the faith of our ancestors, lives on in us. 
       Paul exhorts Timothy to stir into flame the gift of God that has been given to him, telling him, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power, love, and self-control.”  Truly living our faith and our Christian values in our lives, discerning the will of God for us and trying to follow it – this is stirring into flame the gifts and the blessings that God has given to us. 
         Our lives of faith are not always easy.  Paul and his companions suffered great hardship and persecution for their faith, but their steadfastness, zeal, and the grace of God kept their faith alive. May the faith of our ancestors, may the faith of the great missionaries such as Paul, Timothy, Titus, and those came to our Diocese in Mississippi stir the flame within us, keeping our faith alive and vibrant.  

1/25/2018 – Homily - Thursday – Conversion of St Paul – Acts 22:3-16; Mark 16:15-18

     Today, we celebrate the conversion of Paul, as we hear the very dramatic account of his conversion from Acts of the Apostles, of how he was traveling on the road to Damascus when a bright light and the voice of God came out of nowhere.  Perhaps many of us would like such a dramatic and clear episode in our own lives when we’re trying to make a decision or when we’re searching for direction. 

       Paul felt God calling him to a very special mission: to bring the Good New of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.  Paul, who had been a persecutor of Christians, ended up being persecuted himself for the faith, spending more than 3 years behind bars for his role in preaching the Gospel. Prior to his conversion, Paul had been very strict in his Jewish faith and zealous in his devotion to God's laws and commandments.  We can imagine how strong a conversion Paul had to experience in order to stay true to his calling through all his hardships, spreading the Gospel to people whom the Jews considered to be unclean. 

       Paul has had a tremendous influence on our Catholic faith, so much so that we celebrated the 2000th anniversary of his birth in the Year of St Paul as declared by Pope Benedict XVI.  Today, with the joy of the Gospel in our hearts, let us give thanks for the conversion Paul received in his life, and the conversions that still go on in our Church today, for those individuals who either being baptized in the faith or entering into full communion with our Church through our RCIA program here at St Jude in Pearl. Let us give thanks for all of the journeys and stories of faith these individuals bring to us, for the enthusiasm and new life that they bring to our parishes.  In celebrating Paul's conversion, let us appreciate Paul and the others who have passed down their faith to us. 

1/24/2018 - St Francis de Sales - Wednesday of the 3rd week of Ordinary Time - Mark 4:1-20

    Francis de Sales was born in Savoy region of Europe in 1567 to a wealthy family in the era in which Europe going through a lot of turmoil and division in the years after the Protestant Reformation. His family hoped he would become a lawyer, for which he studied in the university.  However, he felt called to serve God in the Church.  After his ordination, he was sent to be a priest in the region around Lake Geneva in Switzerland, which was a center of Protestant Calvinism, not the easiest place to serve as a Catholic pastor.  He traveled around the region on foot, living in poverty and often being threatened by the hostile population.  I thought of the parable we hear today, about the sower who went out to sow in different types of soil, thinking of the challenges that Francis de Sales faced in his preaching and his ministry.  With Sister Jane Frances de Chantal, he helped found the Sisters of the Visitation, a group of religious sisters who were to practice the virtues that Mary exemplified in her visit to her cousin Elizabeth: humility, charity, and piety. Francis de Sales had a strong sense of identity in his Catholic faith and in his priestly vocation.  He was named as Doctor of The Church and as the patron saint of educators, journalists, and writers.     
        Francis’ writings on holiness and spirituality have a great influence on our faith, even today. Here is one wonderful quote from him:  “It is not those who commit the least faults who are the most holy, but those who have the greatest courage, the greatest generosity, the greatest love, who make the boldest efforts to overcome themselves, and are not immediately apprehensive about tripping.” St Francis de Sales: pray for us.  

January 23 2018 - homily for Tuesday of the 3rd week in Ordinary Time - Mark 3:31-35

       What do we make of the Gospel we hear today?  Not only does Jesus not go out to see his mother, but Jesus also proposes that those who are inside the house with him are his “real” family.  But, are those who are outside to see him, are they still his family?  Immediate and extended families and kinfolk were a very important part of society in the ancient Mediterranean world.  In the Gospel today, Jesus expands the concept of family beyond blood relatives.  Jesus sees family as those who desire a relationship with God and a desire to follow God’s will in their lives.  Unfortunately, there are those family members who do not want a relationship with God in their lives.  And perhaps some of us may experience  this reality in our own circle of friends and our own families.  But, for Jesus, in the family of faith, what counts are the choices we make on our journey of faith.  This is very radical, considering the Jewish faith considered non-Jews to be unclean and to be individuals with which they are not to have contact.  Think of the persecution and the ostracism that many in the Early Church felt, with some of this coming from their own biological family. Often, there was a lot of superstition, fear, and pressure from these family members.  But with the values that Jesus proposes in today’s Gospel, he sees Christianity as a new order, a new family.  Our family of faith does not pretend to be perfect.  It certainly has its flaws.  But our family is here to support us, to lead us, to guide us, to help us grow and learn and journey together.  And we are to be supportive, active members of this family of faith, as well.  

Book Review - Meet John XXIII: Joyful Pope and Father to All - by Patricia Treece

This book was written in 2008, before Pope John XXIII became a saint, as declared by Pope Francis. I always wanted to learn more about John XXIII, since his declaration of the Second Vatican Council had such a great influence on the modern Church that we know today.  John XXIII, served in WWI and was stationed in Greece during most of WWII.  He served as a diplomat for the Vatican in Bulgaria and Turkey, two countries with very small Roman Catholic populations.  The Cardinals were looking for an older, transitional pope who would not shake things up very much.  John did not live very long after declaring the Second Vatican Council.  In fact, he died before its completion.  But his legacy is very much felt today.  The book talks a lot about his childhood, his family of origin, and his years as a priest.  A very interesting read.  This is not a scholarly book written for the academic, but rather written for the average person to learn more about this influential pope.  

Book Review - Daily Readings from the Writings of St Joh Chrysostom - Edited by Anthony Coniaris

I am not sure where I got this book, probably from a pile of books that someone donated to our parish in Tupelo some time ago.  Anyhow, I really have enjoyed reading this book of the writings of St John Chrysostom.  I read this over a period of several months, which probably is a good way to read it.  It is organized in small passages of his writing, a page or less in length, more than 200 of them.  They were easy to digest and reflect upon.  St John Chrysostom was the Archbishop of Constantinople in the late 4^th and early 5^th century, and he is one of the revered Doctors of the Church.  He was known as one of the greatest preachers in the early Church.  His writings certainly have a lot of wisdom in them.  

Poem - Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver is a popular contemporary American poet.  Priests and ministers are encouraged to read poetry, as it feeds our souls and stimulates our imagination and creativity.  A friend of mine shared this poem on Facebook yesterday.  It is a good message in a world that can often be bitter, cynical, judgmental, and mean-spirited.  Sometimes, when we feel joy in our hearts, it is crushed and stomped upon.  Yet that should not take away our joy.  

Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

from her book Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches of power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don' be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

1/28/2018 – Homily - Fourth Sunday of ordinary time – Cycle B - Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Mark 1:21-28

      “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” We prayed this refrain in our psalm this morning just a little while ago, but what meaning does this have for us?  We can open our hearts to God’s voice and allow it to lead us and guide us in life.  Or, to the contrary, we can close our hearts to God’s voice and not listen to what it is saying.  Indeed, it may be a challenge for us to distinguish God’s voice from all the noise and busyness and other distractions that are calling out to us and filling up our days. 

         So, who do we see as the authority in our lives?  That is a good question today, since today’s readings all deal with the theme of authority. When the crowds heard Jesus teaching in the synagogue, when they saw him draw a demon out of a man at his command, they recognized that Jesus was not just one of the common scribes in ancient Israel, but that he was a man that had an authority they had never seen before.  And if we are like these crowds, if we do indeed recognize that Jesus has authority - a very special, unique authority - how do we allow that authority to interact in our lives?  This authority has to be more than a whim, more than a craving or an impetuous impulse.  That authority has to be foundational as to how we truly live.  It is good for us to have a passion in life, something we enjoy doing that brings us joy.  A lot of us here really love to do things such as hunting, reading or gardening, exercising or following our favorite sports team.  Those things may be indeed very important parts of our lives and our identities, but we can’t give those activities priority in our lives over God, we can’t make them our idols.

         Allowing our faith to have authority in our lives is sometimes easier said that done.  Unfortunately, I think many Americans take a negative view of authority of any kind, but nevertheless, authority is an important part of all of our lives.  If we are faithful to our Catholic faith, we recognize the authority of the Church in our lives.  Within the Church, there are several sources of this authority.  We not only have the authority of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, but also the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church, comprised of the pope and the college of bishops.  And as I priest, I take this authority seriously, just as all of us as Catholics should.  When I meeting with someone as a priest, when I up here preaching or celebrating mass, I am not just Lincoln, but rather a priest who is representing the Church, who is teaching and preaching and standing up for what our faith believes.

      Many of Jesus’ contemporaries had a difficult time accepting his authority.  They did not deny his mighty deeds of power, such as the healing of the man possessed by an unclean spirit in today's Gospel.  The crowds were troubled by the source of Jesus' authority.  What authority could Jesus have, this humble carpenter from Nazareth? Is he acting by an authority from God, or is it from the world of the other, from the lesser gods and spirits?  Through Jesus' healing & teaching at the synagogue at Capernaum, through the manner in which he acts honorably & not shamefully, the people start spreading Jesus' upright reputation throughout the region of Galilee. 

         As modern Americans, most of us believe we have much greater power over our lives in comparison to those in the ancient world who believed in spirits.  Yet, are we really giving God, the Church, and our faith authority in our lives? Or, are we letting an improperly formed conscience and the voices of the false prophets in our secular society control what we believe as a part of our Catholic faith?  

28 de enero de 2018 – homilia - el cuarto domingo del tiempo ordinario – ciclo B - Marcos 1:21-28

      En nuestro Evangelio de hoy, la gente de Israel reconoce que Jesús habla con autoridad – con autoridad en la sinagoga en la asamblea del sábado, con autoridad cuando el demonio sale a su palabra, con una autoridad muy diferente que los maestros de la le.  

     Hoy, no estamos en Israel en los tiempos de Jesucristo.  Estamos en una parroquia pequeña en un pueblo en Mississippi. Estomas in el mundo moderno, una época muy diferente de la época de Jesucristo.  Pero Cristo nos enseña hoy como él enseñó en esta sinagoga en Cafarnaúm.  Hoy, en su palabra, él habla como un hombre con autoridad.  Pero él no solo habla - él nos ama y él nos conoce.  Él nos trae la salvación y la redención. 

       Para las personas en el mundo antiguo en los tiempos de Jesucristo, ellos tenían creencia en los demonios, en el mundo do los espíritus.  Hoy, en nuestro mundo moderno, muchas personas piensan que esta creencia es una superstición.  Tal vez, no conocemos los demonios en la manera que ellos existen en el Evangelio de hoy, pero si, conocemos los demonios en nuestro mundo, en la realidad de nuestra vida.  Podemos hablar con las personas que viven en las sombras de adicción de las drogas y el alcohol.  Tenemos un mundo moderno donde hay mucha violencia doméstica, donde el terrorismo y el racismo.  Hay muchos demonios que nos asustan en nuestro mundo.

      Si, los demonios existen, pero la autoridad de Jesús existe también a su lado, a nuestro lado.  La autoridad de Jesús nos enseña y vence el mal.   Hay una oración que se llama la Oración de Serenidad.  Esta oración dice: 

La oración por la serenidad lee como sigue
Dios, dame la serenidad de aceptar las cosas que no puedo cambiar;
valor para cambiar las cosas que puedo; y sabiduría para conocer la diferencia.
Viviendo un día a la vez;
Disfrutando un momento a la vez;
Aceptando dificultades como el camino a la paz;
Aceptando, como hizo Él, este mundo pecador tal como es, no como yo lo tendría;
Confiando que Él hará bien todas las cosas si yo me rindo a Su voluntad;
Que yo sea razonablemente feliz en esta vida y supremamente feliz con Él
Para siempre en la próxima.

        Si,  hay las cosas en nuestra vida que podemos cambiar con nuestras fuerzas.  Pero, también, hay las cosas y los demonios que necesitamos dejar en los brazos de Jesús.  En el espíritu de Jesucristo, en el poder de su autoridad, podemos ser liberados de los demonios que existen en nuestro mundo. Podemos avanzar en nuestro camino de fe. 

21 de enero de 2018 – homilia en español del tercer domingo del tiempo ordinario – ciclo B - Marcos 1:14-20

        Cada uno de nosotros tenemos la llamada para ser discípulos de Jesucristo. Estamos peregrinos en este mundo como sus discípulos, peregrinos en una peregrinación.  Hoy, en el Evangelio, escuchamos la llamada de cuatro pescadores.  Ellos dejan su trabajo para seguir a Jesús como sus discípulos.  Ellos cambian sus vidas totalmente.  Cuando Jesús empezó su predicación del reino de Dios en Israel, el comenzó en una manera muy particular.  Jesús anunció al todos los hombres: “He llegado el tiempo.  El reino de Dios está cerca.  Conviértanse a Dios, y acepten con fe sus buenas noticias."

       No sabemos si Andrés y su hermano eran discípulos de Juan el Bautista antes de su entrada a la cárcel.  No sabemos si ellos conocieron las enseñanzas de Jesús antes de este encuentro cerca de la orilla del lago.  No importa si no conocemos estos detalles. Podemos reconocer como discípulos modernos de Cristo que estos dos hermanos tenían confianza en Jesús, que ellos tenían confianza en Dios y en su palabra. 

       Los dos hermanos estaban caminando a un camino muy particular en sus vidas.  Como pescadores, ellos trabajaban y vivían en una manera muy común en su cultura y en su sociedad. Pero, con su llamada al discipulado, con la presencia de Cristo en la realidad de sus vidas,  ellos podían reconocer el momento que ellos necesitaban revisar su camino, que habían otros caminos y otros senderos allí en su vida.  En verdad, es un desafío para cambiar nuestro camino, nuestra ruta, nuestra dirección, nuestro estilo de vivir.  No sabemos los problemas y las dificultades que estos dos hermanos tenían en sus vidas antes de la llamada de Jesús, ni los desafíos que ellos tenían como discípulos tampoco.  Pero, con esta llamada, ellos recibieron la fuerza y la inspiración de cambiar sus vidas y de aceptar a Dios.  Faltamos algo en nuestras vidas si no contestamos la llamada de Dios, si no recibimos la invitación de Jesús con corazones abiertos. 

        Tal vez, tenemos muchas expectativas sobre la presencia de Dios en nuestra vida, sobre su llamada.  Tal vez, tenemos un punto de vista de nuestra religión, de nuestro Dios muy rígido y muy cerrado.  Según los judíos en Israel, el Mesías va a venir con mucho poder y mucha fuerza, como un líder de su nación.  Podemos quedar sordos y ciegos sobre la Palabra de Dios si no queremos dejar esta expectativas que tenemos, si no tenemos una imaginación para aceptar esta llamada. 

       Hay el grito de Jesús en nuestra vida.  ¿Qué está diciendo?

Hike from Pearl to downtown Jackson down Old Brandon Road - Photos

View of Pearl River

Old naval reserve building in downtown Jackson.

Old abandoned building on outskirts of downtown Jackson. 

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love hiking.  Having sustained a stress fracture last January, my hiking days have been on hold.  After Christmas, I did an urban hike down Old Brandon Road from my parish in Pearl to downtown Jackson.  It was a lot of fun - I did the same route two days in a row.  Once I get my knee checked out again, I will be very ready to do this hike again.  Hiking helps me feel so connected to my environment.  Supposedly, this road had a lot of bootleggers in the Prohibition era and the early part of the 20th century.  I love all the history I learn about my adopted state of Mississippi.  It is so nice being back in the Jackson area.   i love being back here.  

Book review - Flambards in Summer - by K M Peyton

This was the third book in the Flambards trilogy, although there was a fourth book that was originally unplanned, Flambards Divided, that came afterwards, that I have yet to read.  In this book, Christina is back at the Flambards estate after William, whom she married, is killed in WWI.  A lot of commentary about the class hierarchy in England is inherent in this story.  The changes in the Christina's life and the lives of those connected to the Flambards estate reflect the great changes that were going on in society in the early 20th century, and the way England was so negatively affected by WWI.  A very interesting novel indeed.  You will soon see reviews on books on the writings of St John Chrysostom and a biography of St Pope John XXIII, both of which I am finishing up.  I am enjoying both of them very much.

Book Review - The Edge of the Cloud - by K. M. Peyton

This is the second book in the Flambards trilogy.  The boos were the basis of a popular mini-series in Great Britain that was popular on PBS back in the late 1970s.  This is the second time I have read these books, and I am enjoying them so much.  The second series concentrates on William and his cousin Christina, as he follows his dream to become a airplane pilot, in the years leading up to WWI. His father and his brother are rooted in the English estate society, riding horses, and fox hunting.  The new field of aviation is something they do not understand.  Yet, it is William's passion and love in life.  He intentionally harmed his leg as a youth so he would not be physically able to fox hunt, yet, this action comes back to haunt him and hinders his ability to fly a plane.  This second book of the trilogy ends with the death of his flying companion at an airfield in England and with William going off to fight as a pilot in WWI.   The contrast between the old values of society and the introduction of modern technologies resonate with what we are going through as a society today.  I am so glad that I am able to make time to read these wonderful books again.  

1/21/2018 - Homily for the 3rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Cycle B - Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Mark 1:14-20 - homily in recognition of prayer, penance, and mourning on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (1/22/2018)

        Sometimes the callings we get in life can be very surprising.  As most of you know, I did not become Catholic until I was an adult at the age of 29, back in 1992.  I entered the Church through the RCIA program during the Easter Vigil mass, just like most adults who come to the Catholic faith from Protestant backgrounds.  Immediately, I felt the calling to be a lay missionary, but finding a program that was the right match for me brought about a lot of different choices.  After looking around at many different programs, the place that intrigued me the most a soup kitchen and food bank up in Winnipeg, Canada.  A lot of my family and friends thought that I was crazy going up to Canada to work with street people, leaving my career as a CPA, but I knew in my heart that this was where God wanted me to go.   Perhaps when I was riding my bike to the soup kitchen in the middle of the Canadian winters when it was 30 or 40 degrees below zero, I wondered about my sanity as well.  But, if it wasn’t for that decision to become a missionary in Canada and my response to that calling, I probably wouldn’t be up here as a priest today.

         Not all of our responses to God’s call are so dramatic.  Many of us here at mass grew up in the Catholic Church.  Some of you were baptized as infants here at St Jude. Even if we are baptized into the faith as infants, when we are teenagers or adults, at one time or another, we have to make a conscious decision to continue in the footsteps of our faith or not.  It's easy to go down another road in life, to shut ourselves off from God, to choose another path that follows the values of our secular world.  We have the freedom to follow our faith or not, and whether we consciously make that decision or not, we all make that choice in some way.

         Our Gospel tells us about two brothers who are making their livelihood fishing, who are casting their nets in the sea when they receive their calling from Jesus.  We don’t know if Simon and Andrew had previously known Jesus or had heard him preaching before.  Some Scripture scholars speculate that these brothers may have been friends of John the Baptist.   But, ultimately, Simon and Andrew left everything behind to follow Jesus.  It was a radical change, but they realized who Jesus truly was, and this made all the difference in the world. 

         In our first reading this morning, we hear about another call, the call of Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh, to tell them to repent and to change their ways.  The people of Nineveh believed in the message that Jonah brought, responding in a sign of repentance, symbolized by their sackcloth and ashes.  God saw their remorse, so he did not carry out his promise to destroy their city.

         Today, we also are called to repentance in a special way.  This Monday is the 45th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in our country.  This day is a day of prayer, penance, and mourning, as we mourn the existence of this law that contradicts the Gospel of life. Our faith teaches us about the value of every human person, as we are all made in God’s image, as we are all redeemed by our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our value is rooted in who we are as precious and unique human beings, not by what we do.  All of our Church’s social teaching begins with and builds upon the foundation of human dignity.

         In viewing of human dignity, our Church teaches the value of human life as a seamless garment from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.  Our human dignity is threatened not only by legalized abortion and euthanasia, but also by such policies that allow cloning, embryonic stem cell research, genocide, torture, racism, the targeting of non-combatants in acts of war & terrorism, and the death penalty.   As Catholics, we cannot pick and choose what we believe in regards to the dignity of human life.  The Church teaches the same message as the prophets of Israel: that the measure of our society and of any society is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person, particularly the poor and the most vulnerable in society, including unborn human life. 

         We mourn on this day of penance, but we also have hope in Jesus and in the future.  We are called to discipleship, to the same call that Andrew and Simon received.  We should not fear the world.  We should not fear professing to the world what we truly believe in the Gospel of Life. The Holy Spirit is with us to empower us, to give us the courage to stand up for what we believe, even if it seems so at odds with our secular world. Yes, we are always to have hope in the Gospel of Life that our faith in Jesus proclaims.