Prayers of the faithful - feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola - July 31 2018

Penitential Rite: 

Lord Jesus - you came to bring the Good News to all - Lord have mercy. 

Christ Jesus - you came to set the captives free - Christ have mercy. 

Lord Jesus - you are the Savior of the world - Lord have mercy.  

Prayers of the Faithful: 

Priest: We unite our prayers today with St Ignatius of Loyola and with all the community of saints.  

1. On this feast of Ignatius of Loyola, we pray for Pope Francis, a member of the Jesuits, for wisdom and courage as he leads and guides our Church.  And we pray for all members of the Jesuits - the Society of Jesus - for their educational institutions and their ministries.  

2. For a spirit of mission - may all of us be missionaries who bring the message of the Gospel to our little corner of the world. 

3. For a spirit of vision - for our communities and our nation - may our governmental leaders have a vision of leading us forward, in all are seen as integral parts of the community.  

4. For a spirit of action - may we all practice peace and justice and a respect for life and God’s creation in our words and our actions. 

5. For a spirit of truth - may we all look into our hearts and see the potential and vocation God has for us. 

6. For a spirit of healing - for the sick and shut-in of our parish, for their care-givers and families.  

Priest:  With humble hearts, we present these prayer thru your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  Amen.  

5 August 2018 - Reflection for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - John 6:24-35

         Like the people of Jesus’ day who want a sign and who do see the sign that is before them, we also can cry out to the Lord wanting some sort of sign, wanting clarity, wanting something to reinforce our faith.   Is was that same with the Israelites who had been delivered from bondage in our reading from Exodus, who were miraculously brought to safety through the sea.  They cried out to God in a voice louder than the rumbling in their stomachs, not having faith that God would provide them food for their journey.  They were afraid to trust God. They were afraid to trust their faith.  In a moment of doubt, they thought it would be better to go back to Egypt, to go back to the horrors of their captivity in slavery, because at least their basic needs would be met. Even when manna was sent down from heaven, they did not understand that it was a gift from God to meet their needs.

         The Israelites had manna in the desert to satisfy their hunger; likewise, we have the true bread from heaven in our Lord Jesus Christ.   How is this bread different from the manna that fed the Israelites in the desert?  Paul states in his letter to the Ephesians that we are “to put away our old selves, to leave behind our former way of thinking and living”  We are to be renewed in the spirit, in the way in which we live, in the way we think in our minds.  We are to be open to the grace of holiness that God gives to us.  That is how this bread from heaven will feed us, renew us, re-energize us. 

         Letting the significance of the bread of heaven touch our souls can be a very wondrous event.  One of the great honors I have as a priest is distributing the Eucharist during mass.  When I look into the eyes of the people and declare that this is “the body of Christ,” the joy and meaning in the faces of the parishioners can be amazing.  It is hard to put into words sometimes, but our hearts know what the bread of life means to us and to our own lives. 

         The daily bread that we receive from Christ brings us new life; it calls us to a process of transformation, and renewal.  We as a people of faith live in the same physical world as people without this faith.  However, our faith gives us a new lens thru which we look at the world. Through our faith, we are able to believe that the Eucharist is body & blood of Christ.  Through our faith, we are able proclaim the dignity of all human life in a secular culture that sees so many people in our society as disposable and unwanted.   Through our faith, we are in solidarity and union with Jesus and with our brothers and sisters, in union with them not only when times are good and when the bread we eat is plentiful, but most especially when we are suffering with Jesus on his way to the cross.  Through our faith, we are challenged by Jesus Christ to go beyond the skepticism and cynicism that engulfs so much of our world. 

       As we are challenged and pushed to grow in our faith, Christ approaches us with mercy and love, helping us in our weaknesses and in our unbelief.  We are called to go through our lives of faith by looking at the bread and wine of the Eucharist that we share together as a sign of Christ’s love for us, Only our faith in our daily bread will satisfy our hunger and thirst for what is most important in life. 

5 de agosto de 2018 - Decimoctavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario - Efesios 4, 17, 20-24, Juan 6, 24-35.

       Hoy, escuchamos sobre el pan que Dios nos da, sobre la manera que Dios cuida a su pueblo.  En el Evangelio de hoy del sexto capitulo de Juan, y en el Evangelio de la semana pasada, la muchedumbre seguía a Jesús y sus discípulos a cualquier lugar ellos fueron.  Ellos buscan algo en su camino – es verdad.  Pero, ellos no entienden el mensaje de Jesucristo.  Ellos piensan que él va a satisfacer las necesidades físicas de sus vidas, simbolizado con el almuerzo de panes y peces que él les dio.  Pero, no pueden comprender mas.  ¿Hay mas que Jesús puede darles?  Ellos no saben.  Ellos quieren otros señales – ellos quieren ver y creer.  Y para nosotros hoy día, ¿como podemos creer en él?  En el mensaje del Evangelio de hoy,  ¿como podemos buscar el pan de cada día?  ¿Cómo podemos crecer en nuestra fe.? 

         Creer es tener fe – es la fundación de nuestro camino de fe como católicos.  Jesús explica a la muchedumbre que ellos necesitan creer en el hijo que el padre mandó al mundo.  Para creer en Jesucristo no es solo intelectual – es un acto de fidelidad, de solidaridad, de compromiso también.  En el Evangelio del domingo pasado, escuchamos la manera que Jesús dio de comer a la muchedumbre con compasión y ternura.  La multiplicación de los panes y los peces significa mucho a los pobres en la muchedumbre.  Pero, creer en Jesús significa mas que nuestras necesidades terrenales.  Jesús puede llenar sus estómagos, pero también puede darles la vida eterna.  Pero, la muchedumbre quiere otro milagro, otro señal, mas evidencia. 

         Podemos gritar a Dios con la necesidad de tener un señal y mas claridad, algo para reforzar nuestra fe.  Los israelitas tenían su libertad de su esclavitud en Egipto, pero gritaban fuertemente a Dios, porque no tenían fe en las provisiones de comida por la parte de Dios en su camino.  Tenían miedo para poner su confianza en Dios – tenían miedo para tener confianza en su fe.  En su momento de duda, querían regresar a Egipto, querían huir de Dios.  Ellos conocían los terrores de su esclavitud, pero tenían comida suficiente y un hogar en Egipto.  Cuando los israelitas recibieron el maná en el desierto, ellos no entendieron esta comida como un don de Dios para satisfacer sus necesidades. 

         Los israelitas tenían su pan en el desierto para satisfacer su hambre.  Hoy, tenemos el pan verdadero del cielo en nuestro Señor Jesucristo.  ¿Es nuestro pan del cielo diferente del pan que los israelitas comían en el desierto?  San Pablo nos explica en su carta a los efesios que necesitamos abandonar nuestro antiguo modo de vivir, corrompido por deseos de placer.  En verdad, tenemos una vida nueva en el Espíritu Santo, en la manera que vivimos, en nuestra manera de pensar.  En esta manera, el pan del cielo puede renovarnos y alimentarnos.  Si ponemos el significado este pan en nuestros corazones, puede hacer maravillas en nuestras vidas.   

         Aunque tenemos desafíos y aliento para crecer en nuestra vida de fe, Cristo siempre nos acerca con misericordia y amor.  El nos apoya en nuestra debilidades y en nuestra incredulidad.  Tenemos la llamada para vivir nuestra fe en luz del cuerpo y sangre de Cristo que recibimos en la Eucaristía que compartimos como señal del amor de Cristo para nosotros. Solo con nuestro pan de cada día, podemos satisfacer nuestra hambre y nuestra sed para las cosas mas importante en nuestra vida. 

3 August 2018 – Friday of 17th week in ordinary time – Matthew 13:54-58

       We hear about how Jesus is unable to work miracles in his hometown because of the people’s lack of faith.  They know Jesus well - to them, he is the son of Mary and Joseph.  To them, both he and his father are humble carpenters.  They have seen Jesus growing up as a child and a youth in their own town.  Who does he think he is? What does he have to teach us and preach in our synagogue? 

         We can be the same way in our own lives, can’t we?  We can see things in a certain way.  We can cling to our own perspective, to what is common and familiar. We can be closed off to the reality that is right before our eyes.  I remember that when I was a missionary, I would have someone visit me, and their perspectives would bring me great insights and hope.  I had to be willing to listen to what they had to say in order to learn from seeing things from their point of view, to seeing things differently. Often we want to cling to the common and the familiar, not willing to open our hearts to new perspectives.

         I think of how many of us take the Church for granted.  So often we take for granted the gifts and talents that different members bring to our parish. We can so often fail to see the miracle of the Eucharist that we receive each week at mass.  Sometimes I can look into someone’s eyes or face and know that the Eucharist is reaching his heart or touching his life in a special way.  However, sometimes we can see the Eucharist with disinterest or boredom, not seeing the miracle of Jesus that comes to us in this heavenly bread.

         Let us open ourselves to the beauty and miracles in our lives and in our faith that are present to us each day.  Let us not be complacent with that which is commonplace.  

31 July 2018 - homily of Tuesday of 17th week in ordinary time – St Ignatius of Loyola – Jeremiah 14: 17 – 22

        The people of Israel are suffering, yet they are not afraid to ask God why.  They ask: God, have you cast us off? Are we loathsome to you?  The people acknowledge the sins of their fathers and the sins that themselves have committed.  They ask God to remember the covenant that he made with them, to forgive them in honor of his own name.

         We live in a society where so many people are not willing to acknowledge the wrongs that they have done.  It is so much easier to blame the system, to blame someone else, to sue someone, to not take responsibility.  The people were confronting God in the midst of suffering from a great draught.  Do we cry out to God in the same way when are suffering or going through obstacles? 

         Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast day we celebrate today, confronted God in this same spirit of honesty.  He was a wounded soldier recuperating in bed the wounds he sustained in battle.  After reading books on the lives of the saints and the life of Christ, he got the call from the Lord to serve him.  After a conversion of heart and time spent in the wilderness and as a hermit and spent time on a spiritual quest before entering seminary at the University of Paris to become a priest. He felt the call to start a new order of priests, the Jesuits, which is the largest religious order of priests in the world today. In the document Ignatius wrote in founding the Jesuits, he stated that members of the order should “…desire to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church his Spouse, under the Roman pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth.”  Leaving behind the life of a solider was not easy for Ignatius – it meant confronting his demons and his shortcomings.  Yet, Ignatius stands as a witness today of someone who was able to approach God with great honesty and candor.  May we all have the courage to do the same.  

2 August 2018 – Thursday of 17th week of ordinary time – Jeremiah 18:1-6

        The Lord offers us different images and symbols through the prophets to help us understand what God is all about.  Today, we hear about the image of a potter who creates different objects out of the clay. I don’t know if you have ever made an object out of clay, but it is so wonderfully earthy and organic to feel the clay in one’s hands and to fashion an object out of it.  The people of Israel are in the hands of the master potter, just as we are as well.  We’re all made in the image of God.  He fashions us and molds us each day of our lives if we allow him to do so. 

         God can rework our lives when something doesn’t work out, just as a potter can rework a lump of clay. This is a sign of encouragement and hope as we continue on our journey of faith.  Sometimes we make bad choices.  Sometimes we falter and mess up.  Sometimes life does not go as planned.  Yet, God has the power to work miracles in our lives, to help us start anew.  We have to be willing to let the Lord work in our lives. We need to be open to his will and his call.  This is not easy, that is for sure.  But, miracles can definitely occur.  

29 July 2018 - 17th weekend in ordinary time - Mission Appeal - Homily - John 6:1-15

     This upcoming weekend, I will be preaching a mission appeal at St Matthew Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.  We go out to different parishioner throughout the country in the summer months from the Diocese of Jackson to parishes in other parts of the country, to share our experiences of being a missionary church here in Mississippi.  The following is the homily I am going to preach there this upcoming weekend.  

     In our Gospel readings these past couple of weeks, we’ve heard how Jesus and his disciples are trying to get away for some rest, but the crowds keep following them.  Wherever they go, Jesus and his disciples have captured the imagination and the attention of the crowd.  The people are hungry for many things in their lives.  Jesus realizes that this goes beyond physical hunger, that feeding their physical appetite will not only satisfy one level of hunger, but it will be a sign that he will be able to feed their other types of hunger as well.  With the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Jesus and the disciples feed the hungry crowds.  The crowds eat as much as they want until they are satisfied, with many baskets of food left over.  Through this miracle, the crowds recognize Jesus as the true prophet of God who has come into their midst.

        As we hear about the crowds who came to Jesus, who hungered for his word and for his ministry, I come to you today as a priest from a missionary diocese in our country - the Diocese of Jackson in the state of Mississippi.  You probably picture Mississippi as being in the heart of the Bible belt, which is definitely true.  We have a large Diocese geographically, taking up most of the state, all except the cluster of counties along the Gulf Coast.  In fact, our Diocese is the largest geographically in the US East of the Mississippi River. Even though we are large geographically, our Diocese has the lowest percentage of Catholics in any Diocese in the United States, estimated to be about 2.3%. There were priests in the state of Mississippi during the time of the Spanish conquistadors and explorers, up until the time that the Spanish settlements were disbanded in the territory of Mississippi.  Our Diocese was established in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI.  Currently we have around 100 parishes and missions, but most are rather small, reflecting the rural nature of our state. Most counties in our Diocese only have only one parish, and some don’t have even one.  

      I have been a Diocese priest for 10 1/2 years. My first assignment as pastor was in the communities of Yazoo City and Belzoni in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the cotton growing region along the Mississippi River.  While stationed in the Delta, I served 3 parishes and two prisons.  I remember telling a priest in California that the territory I served in the Delta encompassed about 1,400 square miles; his jaw just about fell on the floor.  However, in those two counties, there was only about 37,000 people. While I was serving there, one of those counties, Humpheys county, was reported to have the highest child poverty and the lowest median family income of any county in the entire United States. For this past year, I’ve been serving as the pastor of St Jude Catholic Church in the town of Pearl.  I would describe it as a working class parish in a very rural county, even though it is not far from the city of Jackson, our state capital.   

       You can probably tell from my accent that I am not originally from Mississippi myself.  I was born in Chicago - in the Northside neighborhood of Rogers Park. As a young adult, as I served as a lay missionary in Canada and South America for 7 years, I felt God calling me to be a missionary in my own land.  This drew me to a state of Mississippi. For more than a century, the majority of our priests in Mississippi came from Ireland.  In fact, I know of one parish in our Diocese in the city of Vicksburg that predates that Civil War, where every pastor they have had has been born in Ireland.  There are also a lot of priests from different parts of the US who like me felt the call to be of service in the missionary territories of our own country.  We have different priests from religious orders serving in our Diocese - the Redemptorists, the Society of the Divine Word, the Trinitarians, the Norbertines, and the Christian brothers to name some of these congregations.

       I recall how two years ago, in August of 2016, I was staying with family friends here in Indianapolis, trying to rest and recuperate from a bout of pneumonia.  I received a text from a good friend back in Mississippi, telling me that CNN had just reported that two sisters who worked in my Diocese had been killed.  Sister Margaret Held of the School Sisters of St Francis from Milwaukee and Sister Paula Merrill of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, had run a medical clinic in Holmes County in central Mississippi, one of the poorest counties in our entire country.  They were very beloved members of our Diocese and of the community where they served - all of us were so shocked when we heard that they had been murdered.  Going to their memorial service at the Cathedral in Jackson the next week with all my fellow priests was a very emotional experience. I thought of these two wonderful ladies and their witness of faith to the community as I was preparing for my trip up here to Indianapolis, as they represent the missionary spirit of our Diocese, of bringing the Gospel and the love of Christ to the people of Mississippi.

       I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to share with you our experiences in the Diocese of Jackson.  We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and it is important for us to be in solidarity together in proclaiming God’s kingdom here on earth.  Thank you for your prayers and your support.  

Prayers of the Faithful - Feast of St James - July 25 2018

Lord Jesus - you called James to be your apostle - Lord have mercy. 
Christ Jesus - you called your apostles to break out of their limitation and fears - Christ have mercy. 
Lord Jesus - you called James and your apostles to preach your Good News - Lord have mercy. 

Prayers of the faithful: 
Encouraged by our fellowship with St James and with all the saints, let us make our prayers to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ as we celebrate the feast of St James today.

1. Father, as your Son called men and women to leave the past behind them and to follow him as disciples, we pray that you bless those whom Jesus calls as his disciples today. 

2. As your Son told his disciples not to be afraid, we pray that you bless with courage and tenacity the ministers, missionaries and church leaders who bring your Gospel message to the world today. 

3. As your Son sent out disciples to heal the sick, we pray that us of us may reach out to the sick and shut-ins and those in need of healing and reconciliation.  

4. We pray for all present, former, and future pilgrims to the Camino of Santiago in Spain.  May their love of pilgrimage and their devotion to St James be a witness to the world.  

5. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, especially for those souls in the process of purification in purgatory.    

Almighty God, as we celebrate St James the Greater today,  grant that your Church may faithfully hold and make known the faith that has come to us through him and thru the other apostles.  We make these prayers thru Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. 

16th Sunday Ordinary Time - 22 July 2018 - Mass introductions and prayers of the faithful

Introduction to the Mass

The Lord Jesus is our hope for reconciliation and forgiveness. In praise of his holy name, we acknowledge God’s mercy and tender compassion.

Penitential Rite: 

Lord Jesus, you came to this world and preached the Good News of salvation: Lord, have mercy.

Christ Jesus, you destroyed death and restored life to your people: Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, moved with pity for your people: Lord, have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to life everlasting. Amen

Introduction to the Creed: 

As the Catholic Community, let us stand and profess our faith.

General Intercessions

Priest: Our Good Shepherd sees and understands our needs. Let us pray in His name for all who are in need.

1. For the Church and her leaders, may she alway preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ with integrity and hope.  

2. For our governmental leaders, may they work toward justice, healing, and reconciliation in our world. 

3. For our missionaries, our peace makers, and our first responders.  May they feel our gratitude and prayers for their service. 

4. That all of us may proclaim the Gospel of life in our words and our actions, respecting human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

5. For healing for all who are sick in mind, body, and spirit.  For patience and understanding for their family members and care givers. 

6. For the response of the souls of the faithful departed.  

Priest: O God of gracious care, you grant rest to the weary and fill the needs of those who come to you. Hear these our prayers and grant that one day we may rest eternally with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

26 July 2018 – homily for Thursday of 16th week in ordinary time – Psalm 36

        Sometimes, a word or a phrase really sticks out in our readings for the day.  “With you is the fountain of life, O Lord,” states our psalm refrain this afternoon.  The psalmist praises the Lord’s faithfulness, mercy, and justice.  The psalmist sees those admirable attributes in God, and in the psalm verses, he implies that we should reflect those attributes in way we lives out our lives as well.   Today, we celebrate St Anne and St Joachim, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on their feast day.  Tradition has it that Anne and Joachim were childless for many year, that through their faithfulness and prayers and persistence, their prayers were answered in their old age and the Virgin Mary was born to them.  The Bible does not mention Anne and Joachim by name, it does not detail any facts about them, but stories were passed down through tradition, and a devotion to them as saints became strong in the medieval period of Church history.  We know through the faithfulness of the Blessed Virgin that her upbringing and the faith of her parents probably had a key role in shaping who she was.  I look at our parish, I look at the prayers and faithfulness of so many grandparents and great-grandparents, who are modern day examples of Anne and Joachim.

         Lord, you are the foundation of life.  We thank you for your faithfulness, for your mercy, for your steadfast love.  To you, we give honor and praise.  

24 July 2018 - homily for Tuesday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 12:46-50

     There was a lot of discussion about who was identified as neighbor in Jesus’ day.  With a lot of discussion about immigration policies, with a lot of anger and division present in our country, the definition of neighbor is a foremost topic of discussion in our modern society as well.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks a similar question: Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?  We can say that we belong to someone, that we belong to specific family or kinship group, but do our actions and our words match with what we believe?  

      When Jesus was pointing to his disciples, saying that they were his brothers and his mother, I don’t think that Jesus was lessening the importance of his mother Mary and his earthly father Joseph and his other extended family members. As Christ says elsewhere in the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother".  The family of our Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. It is a family that he gathers to himself. It is a family that we are a part of as his disciples.   He welcomes us to his family to do his will because that is our destiny in our discipleship in Christ.  To be faithful to our vocation as disciples, to be faithful to our purpose in life, we are to fulfill the hopes and dreams that God has in store for us.   And as a member of Christ’s family, we are called to holiness, we are called to strive toward perfection.  It is a perfection that we will never achieve, but we are to strive toward it and to do our best.  At the end of our days, may Christ be able to say to us: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Penitential rite and Prayers of the Faithful

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Penitential rite and Prayers of the Faithful 

Lord Jesus - you are our King and our humble servant - Lord have mercy. 

Christ Jesus - you are the son of Mary, the Christ-bearer - Christ have mercy. 

Lord Jesus - you are living her among us - Lord have mercy.  

Prayers of the faithful: 

Priest:  Let us unite our prayers with the prayers of Mary to pray for our needs, the needs of the Church, and the needs of the world. 

1. We pray for the Carmelite sisters here in Jackson, the members of the Carmelite order, and all men and women in ministry in the Church - that they may all call on the strength of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. 

2. That all the nations of the world and their leaders may work for true economic justice and equality. 

3. For the poor, the stranger, and the oppressed - that they may welcomed by our community. 

4. That all youth, like Mary, may be open to God’s call in their lives, that they may say “yes” to serving others.  

5. That we may trust in Mary’s intercessions and imitate her virtues.  

6. For the sick and shut-ins, the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, and for the prayers we hold in our heart.  

Priest: Gracious God, you chose Mary to bear our Savior.  Hear the prayers of your children and grant them in the name of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  

25 July 2016 - Reflection on St James and St Christopher on their feast day

      It is interesting - July 25 is the feast of St James, one of the most revered saints in the Catholic faith. For 4 1/2 years, I was the pastor of St James Catholic Church in Tupelo, Mississippi.  James’ martyrdom - as the first of the apostles to be martyred - is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.  James is mentioned numerous times in the New Testament.  Jesus even had a nickname for him and his brother John - the Sons of Thunder.  James is one of the three apostles who accompanied Jesus to the mountain at the Transfiguration.  And tradition has it that James is the first person to whom an apparition of the Blessed Mother appeared - Our Lady of the Pillar - to encourage him in his missionary work in Spain. 

        But what about St Christopher?  His feast day is also July 25.  He was revered for centuries, but later his feast day was removed from the Church's liturgical calendar because the Church is not sure about the details of his life or if he really existed.  From what I can tell, Christopher is still recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.  However, his feast day is no longer in our Church’s liturgical calendar.  It is said by tradition that he was an early martyr in the Church, but not much is known about him.  His name Christopher means “Christ bearer.”  It is said that he carried the little child Jesus across a river to safety.  Maybe his real name was never known and he was given that name for what he did.  Christopher and many of the early saints were never formally canonized in Rome, but instead were recognized as saints by the early Christian communities.  Christopher’s feast day is still recognized by parishes bearing his name and those who have a devotion to that saint, even though he is no longer in the Church’s liturgical calendar.  

         I love the saints and believe that there is something we can learn from each of them.  St James is certainly a big presence in my life.  When I get discouraged as priest, which definitely can happened, when I am insulted or criticized or ostracized by someone, which believe me has happened, I think of St James and his courage and tenacity. There five times I have been on pilgrimage of St James in Spain have had a huge influence on me.  Every time I go to Spain on pilgrimage, I feel that I am entering a holy land.  Even though some days I have wondered if I can make to the next day as a priest, with St James and the Blessed Mother and many of the other members of the community of saints, I feel their help and encouragement to carry on to the next day. 

29 July 2018 – 17th Sunday in ordinary time - Cycle B - homily on the Bread of Life Discourse – John 6:1-15

      In our Gospel readings these past two weeks, we’ve heard how Jesus and his disciples are trying to get away for some rest, but the crowds keep following them.  Wherever they go, Jesus and his disciples have captured the imagination and the attention of the crowd.  The people hunger for many things.  Jesus realizes that it is more than a physical hunger, that feeding their physical appetite will not only satisfy one level of hunger, but it will be a sign that he will be able to feed their other types of hunger as well.  With the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Jesus and the disciples feed the hungry crowds.  The crowds take as much food as they want until they are satisfied, with many baskets of food left over.  Through this miracle, the crowds recognize Jesus as the true prophet of God who has come into their midst.

      We come to Jesus for different reasons in our lives, don’t we?  We sometimes come to Jesus in a self-center way, just thinking of ourselves.  The Good News of Jesus Christ has the power to transform us and change us. The Body and Blood of Christ that feeds us each time we gather around the Lord’s table has the power to transform us in order for us to be servants to God and to our brothers and sisters, in order to witness to Christ’s values and his ministry, in order to be leaven in a world that badly needs the Gospel message.

      The crowd in today’s Gospel was drawn to Jesus because they saw him as a great teacher.  The people hungered to hear his proclamation of God’s kingdom.  They followed Jesus into the wilderness perhaps because they knew that their souls were lost in the wilderness as well.  The crowds hungered for the words Jesus spoke.  They wanted something more.  They felt that there was something missing.  But, while they were following Jesus, their earthly reality pressed upon them as well. They had a physical hunger for food that needed to be satisfied as well.  They hungered for God, but they hungered for things of this earth as well.

       There is a tension in our lives between the temporal and the divine, between the things of the earth and the things of God.  We as Christians are to reach out in the reality of the here and now of our earthly existence, but our eyes are to be fixed on the eternal life to come.  Our liturgy is the source and summit of our lives as Catholics, but living out the Eucharist in our daily lives is essential as well.  We reach out in works of charity and mercy.  A big effort goes out from our parish to those in need, to reaching out to people in our community and throughout the world.  Our daily bread reaches out to feed our spiritual hunger.  Our daily bread reaches out to feed our earthly needs and our physical hunger.  In our faith, the bread from heaven and the word of God feeds us and nourishes us and transforms us into a true disciples of Christ just as they fed and nourished Christ’s first followers.  May follow in their footsteps.

22 July 2018 - 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B - Mark 6:30-34

      Last Sunday, our Gospel reading was from the 6th chapter of Mark, about how Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to bring his Good News to the world, giving them the authority to anoint the sick with oil and to cast out demons.  One can imagine that this was a very intense, tiring experience for the disciples.  In today’s Gospel, the disciples have returned from their journey, giving Jesus a report about what happened.  We can imagine how they felt.  After any of us has gone on an adventure or a long trip, we have a lot of stories that we want to share with our family and friends.  Jesus must have sensed that the disciples were worn out and that they needed to get away to a faraway place in order to rest and renew, so he takes them to a deserted place.  But peace and quiet is elusive.  The crowds rush ahead of them to meet them there. Jesus and his disciples attract a great deal of attention, yet they need a break in order to continue with their work.

       I think all of us have felt burned out at one time or another, so it is important for us to have times of renewal and retreat in our lives.  We priests are required to spend at least a week each year on retreat or with spiritual exercise in order to renew both our bodies and our spirits. For me, going hiking and going on pilgrimage is what energizes my soul.  What strikes me about both today’s and last week’s Gospels is how Jesus and his disciples work as a team.  Jesus is their leader, that is for sure, but they work together in ministry and in proclaiming God’s kingdom. Many people in our society today think that they don’t need a church or organized religion in their lives, that a one-on-one relationship with God is enough.  But that’s not the message we get from Holy Scripture in general, and it’s not the message that we get from the Gospel readings these past two weeks.

         In a lot of ways, we as Christians in modern America are at a crossroads in the way we live out our faith.  I remember as a child how Christianity was given a lot of respect in our country, how priests, nuns, and ministers were some of the most revered people in society.  Today, organized religion seems to be under attack.  Some of us wonder if we are going to enjoy the religious liberty to even practice our faith according to the laws and morality of the Church if these same attitudes continue to prevail in our society. 

    We are at the end of July.  I think back how I came here to Pearl a year ago this time.  I was really forward to coming here to Pearl.  And I am very glad to be here with all of you.  When I came here, we were in the midst of working on our three diocesan goals. Last month, in a homily, I spoke about the first goal of being an inviting and reconciling community, how we are reaching out to members of our parish and to the community around us in different ways.  The second goal is for our parish to implement a program for life-long learning and formation in the faith.  As Jesus continuously calls us to grow in our relationship with him, we seek to educate and form each person to become intentional disciples.  We have mentioned the FORMED subscription that we now have in our parish.  Through it, we will have access to a lot of different videos, podcasts, books, movies, and other educational materials that will help us to be formed as disciples.  Last year, we had a women’s retreat in which we addressed everyday spirituality.  This year, we will have separate one-day retreats for men and women with the title: Learning from the Saints.  These retreats are good ways for us to take time to reflect about our faith and spirituality, about where we are with our relationship with God.  We are also reconfiguring our library and hope to have it up and running sometime this fall.  For a parish our size, we have a lot of options for religious education for children, youth, adults, and families.  As these things come up, we will work hard to get the word out, and hope that you and your families will participate in our program of faith formation.  

         So as we have heard about Jesus and his disciples these past few weeks, about their work and their rest, about their missionary work and their witnessing of the Gospel to the world, let us think of the ways we can respond to the call just as they did.  

22 de julio de 2018 – homilia - Decimosexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario – Ciclo B - Marcos 6, 30-34

        El domingo pasado, escuchamos el Evangelio del sexto capitulo de Marcos, cuando Jesús envió a los discípulos al mundo de dos en dos.  Ellos tenían autoridad sobre los espíritus inmundos y ellos curaban muchos enfermos.  Podemos imaginar que esta experiencia era muy intenso para los discípulos.  En el Evangelio de hoy, escuchamos otra lectura del sexto capítulo de San Marcos después del regreso de los discípulos.  Ellos dieron un reporte de su viaje misionero.  Ellos estaban muy cansados.  Podemos imaginar su cansancio.  Para nosotros, queremos compartir nuestros experiencias con amigos y familiares después de nuestros viajes y vacaciones.  Jesús quería llevar los discípulos a un sitio tranquilo para descansar.  Pero no encontraron un lugar de paz y descanso.  La muchedumbre estaba esperando la llegada y sus discípulos. 

         Todos de nosotros podemos sentirnos la falta de energía en nuestras vidas.  Es importante para tener los momentos de retiro y refugio en nuestras vidas.  Yo, como sacerdote de la Iglesia Católica, necesito ir para los ejercicios espirituales para reanudar nuestros espíritus y nuestros cuerpos.  Por esta razón, viajaba a España cuatro veces como peregrino en la peregrinación de Santiago de Compostela.  Cuando regreso de esta experiencia de peregrinación, siempre tengo un espíritu nuevo.  Podemos darnos cuenta en el Evangelio de hoy y del domingo pasado que Jesús y sus discípulos trabajaron como equipo.  Jesucristo es el líder de este grupo, es verdad, pero trabajaron juntos en su misión al mundo en su proclamación del reino de Dios.  En nuestra sociedad, en los Estados Unidos, en Europa, en México, mucha gente piensa que no necesita la Iglesia en su vida, que puede tener relaciones uno a uno con Dios directamente, que es suficiente.  Pero, eso no es el mensaje de Jesucristo, del Evangelio de hoy día. 

         Podemos decir que estamos en una encrucijada en nuestra sociedad con la fe cristiana.  Me recuerdo que cuando era niño, la comunidad tenía mucho respecto para los sacerdotes y las hermanas y los ministros de las iglesias.  De los medios de comunicación y del gobierno, nosotros como la Iglesia tenemos muchos ataques.  Muchos cristianos se preguntan si vamos a tener la libertad religiosa para practicar nuestra fe según los mandamientos de Dios si vamos a seguir en este camino secular. 

         Como una comunidad de fe, como el cuerpo de Cristo en nuestro mundo, necesitamos responder que vemos en nuestro mundo.  Es importante para alimentar y fortalecer nuestra parroquia, nuestra comunidad de fe.  El presidente John F Kennedy dijo a cada persona en nuestro país: “No te preguntes qué puede hacer tu país por ti, pregúntate que puedes hacer tú por tu país.”  Como eso, todos de nosotros podemos preguntarnos qué podemos hacer por nuestra Iglesia como discípulos de Cristo, no qué puede hacer nuestra Iglesia por nosotros.

         Jesucristo trabajaba en su misión con sus discípulos, y él fui con ellos a un lugar tranquilo para descansar.  Espero que todos de nosotros podamos mirar nuestros corazones para ver las maneras que Jesús nos llama para proclamar el reino de Dios y para servir nuestros hermanos. 

Men’s retreat - St Jude Catholic Church Learning from the Saints

All men are invited to a men's retreat at St Jude Parish hall on Saturday, August 11, 2018.  Please arrive between 8:30 am and 9:00 am, when there will be coffee and breakfast food.  The retreat will be from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.  The retreat is being sponsored by the St Jude Knights of Columbus, but all men throughout the diocese are invited.  The subject of the retreat will be: Learning from the Saints.  Retreat presenters will be Father Lincoln and friends. There is no cost for the retreat - lunch and snacks throughout the day will be provided. In addition to different presentations on the saints, we will have morning prayer and adoration.  Please mark your calendars.  There is a sign-up sheet at the entrance of the church.  

15 de julio de 2018 - homilia de Decimoquinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario - Ciclo B – Marcos 6, 7-13

    El Evangelio de hoy es muy curioso.  Jesucristo dio instrucciones a sus discípulos, que ellos no pueden llevar muchas cosas en su mochila en su viaje misionero.  

     No creo que Jesús era fanático en estas instrucciones. A su manera, él les mostró lo que necesitaba ser importante en sus vidas en su camino de discipulado. En verdad, podemos llevar demasiadas cosas superfluas en nuestro camino. En las últimas semanas en el Evangelio, Cristo habló sobre la importancia de tener una disposición que permita la presencia de la gracia de Dios en nuestras vidas. Es importante para tener la fe abierta a los milagros y tener la confianza en el poder y la autoridad de Cristo. Vivir con la simplicidad del Evangelio también es esencial para permitir que la gracia de Dios entre en nuestras vidas, a fin de que podamos caminar como un discípulo de fe.

        ¿Pero, como podemos vivir en la simplicidad del Evangelio en el mundo moderno? Cristo dice que no necesitamos llevar nada para el camino: ni pan, ni mochila, ni dinero en el cinto, sino únicamente un bastón, sandalias y una sola túnica.  Pasamos de la niñez a la adolescencia y la edad adulta -  tenemos muchas prioridades que no llaman. Podemos agonizar sobre las grandes decisiones que tenemos en la vida. Podemos preocuparnos por el futuro. Podemos intentar servir a Dios, pero podemos distraernos con otras prioridades y otras influencias y otros mensajes que claman a nosotros en el mundo.  La simplicidad del Evangelio es el don del corazón indiviso. El filósofo danés Soren Kierkegaard dijo que deberíamos tener pureza de corazón, para poder hacer solo una cosa en nuestras vidas. La Biblia nos advierte contra la idolatría, de hacer algo más importante que Dios. El Catecismo dice que la idolatría se refiere a la adoración de dioses paganos. La idolatría puede ser una tentación constante para nosotros en nuestro viaje. En nuestra adoración de ídolos, honramos y veneramos a una criatura en lugar de Dios, ya sea los dioses o los demonios, el poder o el placer, el trabajo or los logros, el dinero o las posesiones materiales. No importa quién seamos, debemos tener una sola cosa en nuestras vidas, simplificar nuestras vidas hasta lo que Jesús quiere que hagamos y seamos, ¡nada más ni nada menos, porque no se necesita nada más!

      Una de las mejores lecciones que tenía en la vida fue cuando servía como misionero laico en Canadá. Trabajaba en un comedor de sopa, ayudando los pobres durante dos años. Recibí $ 350 por mes para pagar todos mis gastos de vivir. Aunque esto fue más que hace veinte y cinco años, no fue mucho dinero. Vivía con otros cuatro misioneros en la ciudad de Winnipeg en una antigua pensión. Mantuvimos nuestro dinero en común y pagamos todos nuestros gastos con él. Al final de cada año, siempre nos sobraba dinero. Sentía que toda mi vida estaba dedicada a servir a Dios en mi trabajo allí en Winnipeg como misionero, al vivir en una manera muy humilde en mi vocación como misionero laico. Y sentía muchas bendiciones en esos dos años, aunque esa experiencia no siempre fue muy fácil. Como sacerdote, constantemente pienso en cómo puedo vivir en la simplicidad del Evangelio en mi vida, sobre cómo eso es parte de mi vocación. 

      A veces, escuchamos a Dios llamándonos a un lugar en nuestras vidas que es inesperado e incómodo. Cuando Jesús reunió a sus discípulos, enviándolos a partes desconocidas para llevar el Evangelio al mundo, enviándolos con apenas provisiones, estoy seguro de que algunos de ellos estaban ansiosos y atemorizados. Sin embargo, los discípulos salieron con corazones agradecidos. ¿Qué necesitamos sacar de nuestra mochila para estar mejor preparados para responder a esa llamada de Dios?

15 July 2018 – 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Mark 6:7-13

     Today’s Gospel is very intriguing, as Jesus sends out his disciples with very little on their journey.  Having traveled as a missionary, and having hiked several times on long pilgrimages, this Gospel is not just a story, but it is reality to me.  When we head off on a long journey with everything carried on our backs or when we travel a long distance and have certain limitations, we really pay attention to what we pack. Back in 1990, I was leaving to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa.  I had received a list of recommended items to bring.  I was going to be serving in a very remote area without any running water or electricity, so there were certain things I needed to bring.  However, there was a weight requirement on the luggage: our two pieces of luggage could not weigh more than 50 lbs in total.  My mom was really good at packing things, so I remember she and my two sisters had my small backpack and small duffle bag on a bathroom scale and were helping me weigh everything.  They had it down to a science.  I decided to not take a lot of things that were just too heavy.  I got my things into those two small bags, but there was a lot I left behind.  When all 50 of us Peace Corps volunteers were together at O’Hare airport getting our luggage checked in, I was amazed at how huge those other duffle bags were compared to mine.  My two bags looked like they were miniature compare to everyone else’s.  Someone asked:  Whose tiny little bags are those?  When I confessed that they were mine, everyone was laughing and amazed that I thought they were going to be strict about the weight requirements.  Oh well – at least I knew that I wasn’t weighed down with what I had.

        I don’t think Jesus was trying to be mean or a control freak in telling his disciples to pack lightly on their journey.  In his own way, he showed them what needed to be important in their lives on their journey of discipleship. We can get bogged down in trying to carry too many superfluous things along with us.  In the last few weeks in the Gospel, we talked about the importance of having a disposition that allows for God’s grace to have an affect in our lives.  Having a faith that is open to miracles and that has confidence in Christ’s power and authority is important.  Living a life of Gospel simplicity is also essential for us to allow God’s grace to enter our lives, in order for us to be able to travel through life as a person of faith.  

        But what do we mean by Gospel simplicity?  Packing lightly for our journey and the concept of Gospel simplicity are linked closely together.  As we move out of childhood and into our teenage and adult years, we have a lot of priorities pulling at our lives.  We can agonize about the big decisions we have in life.  We can become anxious about the future.  We can try to serve God, but we can become distracted by other priorities and other influences and other messages crying out to us in the world.  At its core, Gospel simplicity is the gift of undivided heart.  The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said that we should have purity of heart – to be able to will only one thing in our lives. The Bible warns us against idolatry, of making something more important than God.  The Catechism says that Idolatry refers to more than false pagan worship. Idolatry can be a constant temptation for us on our journey. In our idol worship, we honor and revere something in place of God, whether this be gods or demons, power, pleasure, work, accomplishments, money or material possessions.  No matter who we are, we are to will one thing in our lives, to simplify our lives down to what Jesus would have us do and be - nothing more or nothing less - because nothing else is needed!

      One of the greatest lessons I had in life was when I served as a missionary in Canada.  I worked at a soup kitchen and a food back full-time for two years.  I received $350 a month from those agencies to pay all of my living expenses.  Even though this was more than 25 years ago, that was not a lot of money.  I lived with four other missionaries in the inner city of Winnipeg in an old boarding house.  We kept our money in common and paid all of our expenses out of it.  And believe or not, at the end of each year, we always had some money left over.  I felt that my entire life was devoted to serving God in my work there in Winnipeg – in living very simply and earnestly in my vocation as a lay missionary.  And I felt a lot of blessings in those two years, even though that experience was not always easy.  As a priest, I constantly think about how I want to live out a Gospel simplicity in my life, about how that is a part of my vocation, about the things I need to get rid of in order to be able live out the Gospel message.

      Sometimes, we hear God calling us to a place in our lives that is unexpected and uncomfortable.  When Jesus gathered his disciples together, sending them to unknown parts to be missionaries out into the world, sending them with barely any provisions, I am sure some of them were anxious and afraid.  Yet, they went out with grateful hearts.  They tried not to carry those things with them that would bog them down on their journey.  Where is God calling out to us today?  What do we need to take out of our backpack in order to better prepared to respond to that call.