Saturday, March 31, 2018

8 de abril de 2018 - homilia - domingo de Divina Misericordia - el segundo domingo de pascua - Juan 20:19-31


     Hoy, en el Evangelio, escuchamos sobre San Tomás el Apóstol y sus experiencias con Cristo resucitado.  Tomás no estaba presente cuando Jesús se apareció a sus discípulos en la casa con las puertas cerradas.  Entonces, Tomás hizo una declaración famosa: "Si no veo en sus manos la señal de los clavos y si no meto mi dedo en los agujeros de los clavos y no meto mi mano en su costado, no creeré.”  De hecho, Tomás tocó a las manos de Jesús y su costado cuando apareció de nuevo a los discípulos. A través de este encuentro, Tomás estaba capaz de creer en Jesús y la resurrección. Sin embargo, este incidente que mostró el escepticismo de Tomás le gana el título “el incrédulo". Pero, este título no cuenta toda la historia de Tomás. Se convirtió en misionero: fue a India y murió como mártir de la fe en este país. Tomás tenía dudas en este momento en su vida, pero muchos de nosotros tenemos dudas en algunos momentos de nuestra vida también. Podemos recordar Tomás como creyente, no solo como incrédulo.  Tomás dudó, pero con sus dudas, le llevó a tocar las heridas de Jesús.  Tomás tocó esas heridas - le llevó a la creencia. En esta historia de Tomás, vemos la misericordia y la gracia de Dios. Tomás creció en su fe y se convirtió en un verdadero testigo de la fe en esas simples palabras: "¡Señor mío y Dios mío!”
     Es un Evangelio perfecto para nosotros de escuchar hoy en el Domingo de Divina Misericordia.  El Papa Juan Pablo II declaró el Segundo Domingo de Pascua el Domingo de la Divina Misericordia  cuando celebró el Año Jubilar de 2000 en la misa en la que la Hermana Faustina Kowalska fue canonizado. Hermana Faustina, una monja en Polonia, tuvo una visión de la Divina Misericordia de Jesús en 1931, acompañado por estas palabras: "Yo deseo que la Fiesta de la Misericordia sea refugio y amparo para todas las almas, y especialmente para los pobres pecadores. Ese día la profundidad de mi misericordia tierna está abiertas. Yo desahogo un mar de gracias sobre las almas que se acercan al manantial de mi misericordia ".  Con esta declaración de la Divina Misericordia, la devoción a la Divina Misericordia de Jesús y la coronilla de la Divina Misericordia son muy populares entre los católicos del mundo.  Sin embargo, la celebración de hoy es más amplia de la Coronilla de la Divina Misericordia.  El mensaje que podemos recibir hoy es que la misericordia es para toda la humanidad.  La Iglesia proclama que Dios da la bienvenida a todo el mundo. Si nos acercamos al trono de la misericordia de Dios en nuestra creencia como lo hizo Tomás, podemos cambiar nuestra vida.  Los dos rayos que brillan del corazón de Cristo a la imagen de su Divina Misericordia representan la sangre y el agua que salieron de su cuerpo en la cruz - su divinidad y su humanidad.  Estos rayos demuestran que el amor y la misericordia de Dios llegan a nosotros a través de Cristo crucificado y resucitado.
     Pero, al mismo tiempo, debemos darnos cuenta que tenemos una responsabilidad. Somos testigos del amor y la misericordia de Dios en el mundo, para hacerlo con toda la sinceridad de corazón.  Es el deseo del Papa Francisco para nosotros, los fieles.  Con mucho gozo, podemos recibir la llamada de tener la misericordia de Dios en nuestros corazones hoy en esta celebración de la divina misericordia de Cristo, con corazones llenos de esperanza y alegría.

Friday, March 30, 2018

2 April 2018 - Monday of the Octave of Easter - Matthew 28:8-15


      Easter is not just one day out of the year when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  Easter is a glorious season that the Church calls us to celebrate in our liturgical year.  After our celebration of Holy Week, we celebrate Monday in the Octave of Easter, and with great joy, I celebrate mass with you today, the faithful of the Church.  Back in 2016, Pope Francis announced that a decision had been made with the Congregation of Divine Worship that the Memorial of St Mary Magdalene would be elevated to a feast in the Church’s liturgical calendar.  The Pope recognized her role as the first witness to Christ’s resurrection, as a true and authentic evangelizer, and as the apostle to the apostles. All the other apostles are celebrated with feasts, which makes this quite a significant announcement in our Church. As Mary Magdalene reported to the world what she had witnessed, we all are called to continue that witness, to tell the world what we have seen, to preach the Good News of Christ crucified and risen.  The news that Christ is risen is the earliest confession of the Christian faith.  This faith is confirmed each time we celebrate the Eucharist around the Lord’s table, each time we celebrate the Sacraments of our faith.  We are called to have faith in Christ’s resurrection.  Out of that faith, we are sent into the world.  We are sent in many different forms.  In the reality of our daily lives, let us go out and proclaim this Good News that Mary Magdalene brings to us today.  

Thursday, March 29, 2018

8 April 2018 - Divine Mercy Sunday - homily for the 2nd Sunday of the Easter season - Cycle B – John 20:19-31


      We may make a judgment about Thomas the Apostle based upon what we hear in today’s Gospel.  In general, that assessment tends to look down on him.  Thomas wasn't present when Jesus appeared to his disciples in the locked room, so he makes a famous statement to the other apostles when he hears their testimony: “"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."  Thomas does indeed touch Jesus' hands and side when he appears again to the disciples a week later.  Through this “hands-on” encounter with Jesus, Thomas is able to believe in Jesus and the resurrection.  Yet, this incident that displays Thomas’ skepticism earns him the title “Doubting Thomas” amongst believers. However, that title does not tell the whole story.  Thomas became a missionary, bringing the Gospel to the people of India and dying as a martyr for the faith.  Thomas had doubts, just as probably almost every Christian does to one degree or another at some point in his life.  But shouldn’t we remember Thomas as a believer rather than a doubter?  Thomas doubted, to be sure, but those doubts and questions led to him to touch the very wounds of Jesus.  Touching those wounds led him to belief. This was not by chance.  In the story of Thomas, we see God’s mercy and grace at work.  Thomas moved out of his doubt and became a true witness for the faith in those simple words: “My Lord and my God!”
      We hear today’s Gospel message on Divine Mercy Sunday.  Pope John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter of each year to be Divine Mercy Sunday when he celebrated the Jubilee Year  of 2000 at the mass in which Sister Faustina Kowalska was canonized.   Sister Faustina, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland, had a vision of the Divine Mercy of Jesus in 1931, accompanied by these words: "I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of my tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of my mercy".  With the declaration of Divine Mercy Sunday to be celebrated each year, devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet has become very popular among the Catholic faithful. Yet, today’s celebration goes beyond the Divine Mercy chaplet.  The message that all of us should take away from today is that out of his love and mercy for humanity, Jesus wants to bring everyone into the community of believers. God’s door is open to everyone – that is the message that the Church and Pope Francis give to the world.  God's love and mercy is there for those who have not cultivated a relationship with God in their lives, for those who are hurt and overburdened by the harsh reality of their lives, for those who have had their feelings hurt by past experiences with the Church, and for those who longer fully engaged in their faith.  If we approach God’s throne of mercy in our humility and our belief just as Thomas did, we will be changed forever.  The two rays that shine from Jesus’ heart in the image of his Divine Mercy represent blood and water, Jesus’ divinity and humanity.  These rays demonstrate how God’s love and mercy reach out to us through Christ crucified and risen.
      As we celebrate God’s divine mercy for us today, we should realize that we are called to do our part.  We are to strive to be witnesses of God’s love and mercy throughout the world, to do so with all sincerity of heart. And this ties into Pope Francis wish for us, the faithful.  Several years ago, the Pope declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy.  He wanted the celebration of this Holy Jubilee Year to make clear to the world the Church’s witness to God’s mercy.  That Holy Year of Mercy was a great gift to our Church and to the world.  May we all feel God’s mercy in our hearts today as we celebrate this joyful Easter season with hope and joy. 

6 April 2018 - homily - Friday in the Octave of Easter - Acts 4: 1-12



      The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the Early Church.  During the daily masses in the Easter season, we hear first readings from Acts.  For the last few days in the octave of Easter, we’ve been hearing about how the healing of a lame man gave Peter and John the opportunity to evangelize them about the risen Christ, about how our faith in Jesus can work miracles in our own lives.  Besides getting the attention of the crowds, Peter and John attract the attention of the Sadducees, the temple guards, and the chief priests. The fear Peter and John have of the authorities are justified, as they are eventually are taken into custody.  However, like Jesus himself, they use these opportunities for evangelization and as moments where they can minister to others.  Little by little, through their experiences, Peter, John, and the other first disciples become energized and confident, courageously bringing the message of Christ’s resurrection to the world, even to those important elders of the Jewish community in Jerusalem who held all of the power and influence in that society, those who were reluctant to hear this message.  They are great examples of evangelization for all of us.  As all of us as Christians are called to evangelize in our little corner of the world, we can learn a lot from them. 

5 April 2018 - homily - Thursday in the Octave of Easter - Acts 3:11-26


     I really enjoy the readings from the Acts of the Apostles that we hear in our daily masses during the Easter season about the development of the Early Church. Today’s reading takes place after a lame man asks Peter and John for help at the gates of the Temple area.  We heard about the beginning of this reading yesterday.  Instead of just giving this man a few coins, they heal him by invoking the Holy Spirit. In his joy at being healed, the lame man leaps around, praising God.  The commotion that he makes draws a large crowd, giving Peter the opportunity to preach to the crowd about Jesus.  Peter wants the people to repent, to change their lives, to become followers of the risen Christ. That is the thing about miracles: it is not the miracle itself, the healing of the lame man, that should draw our attention, but rather the power and the truth behind that miracle, the way it teaches us about God’s kingdom and about our faith. 
     We hear a lot about repentance in our Catholic faith, don’t we. I keep a blog where I post my homilies as a priest.  I started the blog in 2011. I did a word search on the word “repent” in my blog posts; it has appeared in 192 different postings in my blog.  “Repent and believe in the Gospel”: that is what was proclaimed to us at our Ash Wednesday liturgy as we received a smudge of ash on our foreheads. We were called to repentance in a special way during the season of Lent.  We are called to a constant cycle of repentance on our journey of faith.  How we repent, how we respond to the resurrection of Christ, and how his resurrection becomes a reality in our lives of faith: this is what the joyful Easter season is all about. We can all probably think of many little things that we can do to live out the resurrection in our lives, how we can reach out to others in the spirit of the resurrection. The lame man and the crowd were called to respond to and to repent at hearing the message of our Lord Jesus Christ in the words of Peter and John. His Gospel not only comforts us, but it also challenges us. It is up to us to respond and to repent. 

4 April 2018 - St Isidore of Seville (560-636) - Wednesday of the Octave of Easter - Luke 24: 13-35


   There is a saint named Isidore the Farmer, a poor laborer who was born in Madrid, Spain in the 11th century, who was known for his humility, piety, and love for the poor. Today, we celebrate another saint who is from Spain who is also named Isidore - St Isidore of Seville.  Isidore of Seville was the Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades in the early 7th century; he is considered the last of the Early Church Fathers. He is a Doctor of the Church and one of the great theologians and scholars of the Early Church, with his crowning achievement being the Etymologiae, a 20 volume work that is an encyclopedia of universal knowledge of the Christian faith, the first such work of its kind.  This is great quote of his, definitely reflecting his personality and the mind of a scholar: “If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us.” 
       We celebrate Isidore of Seville today in the Octave of Easter as we celebrate our risen Lord, and as we hear about the disciples on the Road to Emmaus.  A theological knowledge of our faith is important, as evidenced by figures in our Church such as Isidore, but as our Gospel illustrates today, nothing can substitute for a personal encounter and relationship with Christ.  These disciples on the Road to Emmaus presumed Jesus to be dead, so they did not recognizing him appearing before them.  Yet, through their interaction with Jesus, through the kindness they offer to a supposed stranger, through them breaking open God’s word and breaking bread together, they recognize him and they believe. This encounter inspires them to share their experiences and to bring the Gospel message to others.  We, too, are called to offer acts of kindness to the stranger and the broken.  We, too, are to break open God’s word, to have his word interact with the reality of our lives.  And in the Eucharist, in the breaking of the bread around the Lord’s table, we are to receive nourishment, encouragement and, life. Yes, like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, we also are pilgrims on a journey.  May we never forget that.

3 April 2018 - John 20:11-18 - Tuesday in the Octave of Easter


    Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, shocked and surprised to find it empty.  As the risen appears to her, she goes to other to tell them what she discovered.  Thus, begins the process of Mary Magdalene and the other disciples to try to understand what all of this meant.  
     Sometime we cannot understand the complexities of our lives, the complexities of human history.   I think of how the Crusades are a difficult event to understand in our Church history.  The Crusades and the Muslim invasion of Spain are central events to the pilgrimage I have been on in that country.  It is easy in my modern 21st century American mentality to judge that era or to ignore it.  I struggle to gain greater insight and understanding as to what went on without trying to judge these events from my modern point of view. I bring this up because Richard of Chichester is the saint we celebrate today.  I learned about him when I was assigned to St Richard parish in the city of Jackson, Mississippi.  I grew to love St Richard and appreciate his teachings. Richard was Bishop in Chichester, England in the 13th century.  He had a very difficult time as Bishop.  Most of the time, King Henry III denied him access to his cathedral and the revenue due to the Diocese due to a dispute that was going on between the King and the Church.  Richard had to roam his Diocese, relying on the generosity of the faithful. Pope Innocent IV called on Richard to preach in favor of the Crusades throughout England, which Richard obediently did.  However, in the midst of those journeys, he came down with fever and died at the age of 56.  He was buried in Chichester Cathedral, which became a popular place of pilgrimage. However, that site was destroyed under King Henry VIII in 1538 when England broke away from the Catholic faith.  Richard’s remains and any artifacts that remained in Chichester were destroyed as well. It is interesting that the composers of the rock musical Godspell chose St Richard’s prayer as the basis of one of their songs: 
Thanks be to thee, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which thou hast given us,
for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
may we know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly. Amen
St Richard, pray for us.  

Anonymous quote - When we walk to the edge of all the light we have....

A parishioner of mine gave me this framed quote several years ago.  I have it hanging up in my office at St Jude.  Very true.  

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have, and take a step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen.  Either there will be something solid for us to stand on.  Or God will teach us how to fly. 


Wednesday, March 28, 2018

1 de abril de 2018 – Domingo de Pascua – Juan 20, 1-9


     Podemos ir a la misa cada domingo en nuestra parroquia para celebrar con nuestra comunidad de fe.  En la celebración eucarística, podemos aprender mucho sobre nuestro Señor Jesucristo, sobre su vida, sus milagros, sus promesas, y su proclamación del reino de Dios.  Pero, todo de eso es nada si no creemos en la salvación que tenemos en su muerte y su resurrección.   
       La resurrección de Jesucristo que celebramos este Domingo de Pascua es para nosotros la fundación de nuestra fe.  María Magdalena fue a la tumba de Cristo en las tinieblas de la mañana.  El sepulcro era vacío. Anunció ella a los discípulos – “Se han llevado del sepulcro al Señor y no sabemos donde lo habrán puesto.”  María Magdalena y sus compañeros eran testigos de la resurrección, pero en este momento, no se daban cuenta sobre esta realidad en su plenitud.  La resurrección es la fundación de nuestra esperanza y la base de toda la vida moral del cristiano.  Ser cristiano es vivir realmente en la profundidad y la realidad maravillosa del Misterio Pascual de Cristo.
         Hay muchas personas en nuestro mundo que no creen en el milagro de Pascua, en el milagro de la resurrección.  ¿Entonces, cómo podemos hablar hoy a nuestro mundo de la resurrección del Señor?  ¿Cómo podemos proclamar esta realidad?  Creer en la resurrección es creer en algo que sólo Dios puede hacer. La resurrección nos da vida en una realidad nueva.     La creencia en la resurrección y su realidad en nuestra vida sólo tiene explicación desde la muerte y la experiencia de la resurrección del Señor. Es inútil tratar de explicar la resurrección de Jesucristo a una persona que no caminaba con Él por los caminos de la fe, que no reunía sus cruces que la Cruz de Jesucristo. Comprender la realidad de la resurrección significa haber aceptado la vida que muere en la cruz para esperar una vida nueva más allá de la muerte.  Creer en la resurrección es creer en las promesas de Cristo y tener esperanza en ellas.
      Pero, en verdad, que es la resurrección?  Es el triunfo del amor que es más fuerte que la muerte.   Es empezar de nuevo de otra manera, desde otra realidad.  Esta realidad no existe solo con nuestra inteligencia sino con la fuerza de la fe.  Es increíble porque sólo Dios es quien lo puede hacer.
        Somos creyentes en nuestro Señor.  No nos quedamos solamente en la visión de nuestra existencia en la tierra.  Tenemos la creencia en algo mas.  Vivir en la resurrección de Jesucristo es tener gozo y nueva vida.  La muerte no tiene la última respuesta con las promesas que tenemos en Cristo.  Como seguidores de Cristo, tendremos un horizonte más allá del horizonte de nuestra vista en el presente aquí en la tierra.  Tenemos nuestro Señor como nuestro luz, como el centro de nuestra vida.  Es nuestra realidad. 


Holy Week Schedule for St Jude Catholic Church - Pearl, Mississippi





Blessed Holy Week everyone! Here is the schedule for St Jude in Pearl, Mississippi this week:

Tuesday - Chrism mass - 5:45 pm at Cathedral of St Peter in downtown Jackson
Wednesday - daily mass - 6:00 pm in prayer chapel
Thursday - Holy Thursday liturgy - 7:00 pm
Friday - Stations of the Cross - noon 
Friday - Good Friday Liturgy at Whitfield State Hospital at 2:00 pm
Friday - Good Friday Liturgy - 7:00 pm
Saturday - Easter Vigil Mass - 8:00 pm
Sunday - Easter Sunday Masses - 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm (Spanish)







Sunday, March 25, 2018

Welcoming Holy Week

Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks.  Two weeks ago, I led a retreat for the Carmelite nuns here in Jackson, going over to their monastery in South Jackson every weekday morning for a week to lead them in spiritual exercises.  Last week, I have five different reconciliation services I helped out with at neighboring parishes and schools.  This past weekend, I had a day long Saturday retreat here for our RICA candidates/catechumens that I led.  We are ready for Holy Week!  And after Easter weekend, I am hoping to get away for a day or two to re-energy, possibly a day or two of hiking.  Having been on the Camino de Santiago three winters in a row, I am still trying to recuperate from my stress fracture, and I sorely missing the Camino this winter.  I dream of going there again soon.  

Saturday, March 24, 2018

31 March 2018 - homily - Easter Vigil Mass - Exodus 14:15—15:1; Isaiah 55:1-11; Baruch 3:9-15; 32C - 4:4, Romans 6:3-11; Mark 16:1-7


      Our Easter Vigil Mass tonight is the highlight of our liturgical year.  Catholics throughout the world gather to celebrate this most holy night in union with our Lord and with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We welcome our new members into the Catholic Church during Mass tonight.  We feel a great sense of spiritual solidarity with those entering our Church tonight, a sense of love and gratitude. We pray for them and with them as they receive the sacraments and as they consecrate their lives to Jesus Christ.  Tonight, we are called to participate in this holy and unifying experience in our Easter Vigil Mass.  
     Tonight’s Mass always takes place in the midst of the darkness of night.  The light of Christ had gone out of the world with his death on the cross on Good Friday.  We remained in darkness until the Easter fire was lit tonight, symbolizing Christ as the light of the world who rose from the tomb, dispelling the darkness of the world. Tonight, we celebrate Christ as the source of light, love, and goodness, as the source of our salvation and redemption.  
     In our first reading tonight from Exodus, God parts the Red Sea and leads his people out of bondage from slavery and sin.  God liberates the Jewish people so that they can live with him in holiness and unity.  Indeed, God liberates all of us who have been baptized in Christ.  In the life giving Easter waters that we will bless tonight and that will be used in our baptisms throughout the Easter season, Jesus leads us out of sin into our new life with him.  
     In our reading from the prophet Baruch, we hear how God calls his people, how they answer him with understanding, “here we are!”  The people shine with great joy for their creator. Those who will enter our Church this evening have answered God’s call.  They come forward tonight to acknowledge him and to respond in faith.  We the faithful celebrate with them tonight.
      “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.”  The angel proclaims these words to the women as they discover the empty tomb.  Without the empty tomb, he would not be the son of the living God. Christ breaks through the barriers of our doubts and of our fear of death as he is raised from the dead on Easter. Death does not have the final say.  Through the Easter mysteries that cry out to us, we are called to believe that he died for the forgiveness of our sins and rose to new life so that they we might have eternal life with him. Tonight, in the darkness of night, Christ is the life of the world.  Christ is the light of the human race.  Christ is our Easter joy. 

1 April 2018 – homily for Easter Sunday – John 20:1-9


     While Christmas seems to be the Christian holy day that gets most of our attention in our modern secular world, it is Easter that is at the heart of what we believe as Catholics.  The Triduum of liturgies, of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil, are called the high point of our Church’s liturgical year.  Holy week and our celebration of Easter morning mass connects the cross of Jesus to his resurrection, a connection that help us truly understand what our faith is all about.
         The symbolism of our Easter Vigil Mass last night is striking with the contrast between light and darkness.  The Easter fire starts out in front of the church after sunset, symbolizing the light of Christ that is brought into our world in a special way through his death and resurrection.  Our candles are lit by the paschal candle, the light of Christ, symbolizing the source of the true light in the world.
         Mary Magdalene was enveloped in the darkness of the night when she came to the tomb that morning.  We can imagine the spiritual darkness that consumed her that morning, overshadowing the darkness of the night.  Full of remorse, pain, and frustration, she believed that our Lord’s body had been stolen from the tomb when she found it empty.  Jesus had been put to death; now his body could not even be anointed.  This was a sign for Mary Magdalene, for Peter and the beloved disciple, a sign that something unique and special was going on, something that was difficult to understand.  They had no idea what all of this was about, of the implications that the resurrection would have on their lives and their faith.
         There is a lot for us to figure out as well, isn’t there?  Many of us have taken our faith for granted. We take for granted the religious freedom we have had in our country to practice our Christian faith.  Perhaps what we see going on in the world and in our country could be a wake up call for us, an impetus for us to practice our faith with more zeal and focus.  Although we will have fifty days of celebration in the Easter season in which recognize the risen Christ in a special way, we as Catholics will still have our crosses to bear in our call to stand up for the values of our faith and for the freedom to practice our faith in the world.  Indeed, in order for us to truly understand the light of the resurrection of Christ, we in turn must be lights shining in the darkness of our world.  For these next weeks during the Easter season, we will ponder what the resurrection of Jesus really means to us - what it really means to live out the resurrection of Christ in our lives. 

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Book Review - Henri Nouwen - The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Henri Nouwen is one of the most beloved contemporary Catholic authors.  This book on the Desert Fathers and Mothers is very concise and very interesting.  I have always been fascinated by the Desert Fathers and Mothers, those men and women who felt called to enter the solitude and silence on the desert away from their cities and towns, to find the roots of Christianity.  In a lot of ways, Nouwen mentions throughout the book ways that the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers can be applicable to the lives of those of us in ministry.  Nouwen's books are always easy to read and contain a lot of got writing upon which the reader can reflect.  

Book Review - Pablo Neruda - On the Blue Shore of Silence: Poems of the Sea

Back in the summer of 2002, I had a fellowship with the US Dept of Education to study in Argentina and Chile with a group of teachers from across the US.  While in Chile, we visited the Pablo Neruda Museum, located in his former residence in the city of Valparaiso, near the coast, not far from Santiago.  Chile is a very interesting country - a sliver of land spanning a large part of the South American continent, with the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Andes Mountains to the East.  Neruda, a Noble Laureate for Literature and a very beloved figure in the county in Chile, was an amazing poet.  His poems about the sea, both in Spanish and the English translate, are very earthy and compelling.  I have always enjoyed poetry.  I enjoy it even more so as a priest, since it helps feed my soul and helps me in my inspiration for homilies.  I hope to read more of Neruda's poetry in the future. 

March 23 2018 - homily - Friday of the 5th week of Lent - Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10:31-42.

       In our readings, we see similarities in how the prophet Jeremiah was treated in his day and how Jesus was treated during his time here on earth.  Jeremiah was criticized, denounced, and persecuted. Even his friends abandoned him.  He says that they were awaiting his downfall and destruction.  The scribes, the Pharisees, and so many of the Jews likewise turned against Jesus.  They tried to trap him into violating God’s laws. In today’s Gospel, they are even ready to stone him to death. Today, after our mass is concluded, we will commemorate Jesus’ journey to the cross as we pray the ancient prayer devotion of the stations of the cross. A week from today, we will venerate the cross of Jesus at our Good Friday prayer service, commemorating the very day that he died on the cross.  Jeremiah had confidence in God. He knew that his attackers and critics would not prevail.  Jeremiah remained strong as he loyally served as a faithful prophet throughout his lifetime. Jesus also remained faithful to his Father and to his mission even to his death on the cross.  I found this meditation on the first station of the cross, of Jesus being condemned to die.  Its message speaks to us today: "Lord, you were condemned to death because fear of what other people may think suppressed the voice of conscience. So too, throughout history, the innocent have always been maltreated, condemned and killed. How many times have we ourselves preferred success to the truth, our reputation to justice? Strengthen the quiet voice of our conscience, your own voice, in our lives. Look at me as you looked at Peter after his denial. Let your gaze penetrate our hearts and indicate the direction our lives must take. On the day of Pentecost you stirred the hearts of those who, on Good Friday, clamored for your death, and you brought them to conversion. In this way you gave hope to all. Grant us, ever anew, the grace of conversion."

Sunday, March 18, 2018

30 March 2018 – Good Friday – John 18:1-19:42


      Scripture scholars John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg wrote a book entitled THE LAST WEEK about the events of Holy Week from an historical perspective.  Crossan and Borg call this day of Jesus’ crucifixion “the most solemn day of the Christian year”.   On the surface, calling the day Jesus died “Good Friday” might seem to be to be a contradiction in terms. In Spanish, today is called “Holy Friday”, while in German it is called “Sorrowful Friday”.  But we Christians know that calling today “Good Friday” is not a contradiction, because even though the horror of Christ’s death occurred today, it is also the day that the redemption of the world was accomplished. 
        We can make a connection between the death of Jesus on Good Friday with his resurrection which we celebrate on Easter in the Lenten observances we have been practicing these past weeks.  By praying the Way of the Cross on Fridays during Lent, we can make the connection between the sufferings that Christ endured and the sufferings and sacrifices that we endure in our own lives here on earth.  One of the prayers that is prayed at the ninth station, when Jesus falls the third time, states: “Almighty and eternal God, you permitted your son to be weakened, crushed, and profaned so that he might rise from the dead freed from the ravages of sin.  Help us to accept our weaknesses and failings as forerunners of our glorious resurrection in union with your son.”  Hopefully, uniting our sufferings, our weaknesses, and our failings to journey of Christ will help us grow in our faith and help find meaning in our journey.
         It is easy to say that we have faith and to praise the Lord when things are going well in our lives, isn’t it?  But when we go through those dark moments, we probably want to cry in pain and agony in the words of the psalm that we heard on Palm Sunday: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  In the passion that we heard today in the Gospel, there were those who abandoned Jesus and who only thought of themselves.  We saw Peter deny Jesus.  We saw Judas betray him.  We heard the crowd shouting to have Jesus crucified. Yet, we also saw the Blessed Mother, Mary of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala standing by the cross of Jesus out of love and loyalty.  We saw Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea give Jesus’ body a proper burial. 
         We have accompanied Jesus during Holy Week and we now honor him on this day that he died.  We venerate his cross out of our faith, out of our humility, out of knowing what the cross really means.  I will never forget an image from my first Good Friday liturgy as a priest.  That year, at St Richard parish in Jackson, we had all of our parishioners carrying rocks during Lent, to symbolize our sins and all that is keeping us from God.  We had everyone come an place their roots at the foot of the cross as a part of our Good Friday liturgy.  One young lady from our parish had been very ill for several years; she had not eaten anything by mouth all those years and had her nutrition brought into her body through tubes.  She rarely came to mass due to her medical condition, yet she was intent on coming up and venerating the cross of Jesus.  As she came up, one of the last to do so, dragging the box that contained her IV tubes and drips with her, there was not a dry eye in the entire congregation.  I thought – what a testimony it is to see this young lady uniting her sufferings with Christ’s sufferings, to find meaning in her faith in the cross of Jesus and in the redemption that it brings to us.  Today, as we connect our lives with Jesus’ passion and his death on the cross, we have hope in the resurrection that is come. 

29 March 2018 – Holy Thursday – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-15


     A couple of years ago, when I was serving as pastor at St James up in Tupelo, I received an email from Riley Manning, who was the religion reporter for the Tupelo Daily Journal in the midst of our Lenten journey.  This is one of the questions he asked me: For those who may not know, what is Holy Week and why is it important?
     In answering that question, I paraphrased a quote from Pope Benedict XVI, who stated that during Holy Week, we Christians reenact, relive, and share in the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. Pope Benedict said, that in many ways, the events of Holy Week tell us what our faith is all about. 
     We find ourselves commemorating Holy Thursday today in the middle of Holy Week.  One event of significance we have in our Holy Thursday liturgy is the establishment of the Eucharist for us as followers of Christ.  Paul tells us the simple and profound words of Jesus during the Passover that he celebrates with his disciples: “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In those words, Jesus gives us the gift of the Eucharist and the mandate that goes with it as well.  Paul goes on to say: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
      Perhaps it is the washing of the feet of the twelve representatives of our community of faith, representing Christ’s disciples, that helps explain to us what the Eucharist should mean to us and how we are to live out our lives of faith in the mandate Jesus gives to us.  At his first Holy Thursday mass as Pope, Pope Francis, made headlines all over the world for what he did.  Normally, the Pope celebrates Holy Thursday at one of the major basilicas in Rome, either St Peter or St John Lateran. The pope usually washes the feet of 12 priests during the mass, symbolizing the 12 apostles.  However, last year, he visited a youth prison for the Holy Thursday celebration, bathing the feet of 12 inmates, which included 2 women and 2 Muslims.  That was the first time that women had ever been included in the foot washing ceremony on Holy Thursday as celebrated by a Pope.  This evening, we will have the foot washing of 12 representatives of our community of faith.  However, all of us present today should feel Jesus washing our feet. Perhaps some of us feel resistance in our lives of faith right now.  Perhaps we are resistant to have Jesus wash our feet just as Peter was resistant.  Perhaps we don’t want Jesus to wash our feet, to give himself to us, to let him be servant for various reasons.  Perhaps we want our independence, to live according to our own laws and the laws of man rather than the laws of God.  Perhaps we don’t want to admit that we need to healed or saved or washed.  Or perhaps we don’t feel worthy.  Perhaps this year during Holy Week, God is calling us to name that part of ourselves that we need to surrender to him, that we need Jesus to love and to embrace, to wash and to clean. 
       Jesus gives us a mandate in the Gospel as he washing the feet of his apostles in a show of servanthood – to follow his model and to do for our brothers and sisters what Jesus has done for us.  The Gospel tells us that Jesus loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.  We are to love in the same way.  As Jesus washes our feet today, we are to feel love and gratitude in our hearts .  The way we approach the Eucharist and to live out the Eucharist, both today and everyday, is to flow out of that love and gratitude.
      Today we enter into the three days of liturgies before Easter – it is called the Triduum.  As we celebrate Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday together as a community of faith here at St Jude, let us see these three liturgies as a single prayer in our final preparation as we enter into the redemption and salvation of humanity that is made present in the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord.  

28 March 2018 – homily for Wednesday of Holy Week – Matthew 26:14-25


       Yesterday, on the Tuesday of Holy Week, the priests and lay ecclesial ministers from throughout our Diocese gather together in Jackson to attend the Chrism mass.  The Chrism Mass takes place in the Cathedral of each Diocese in the Catholic Church during Holy Week, reminding us of our unity in Christ through Baptism and its holy anointing, made possible by the ministry of the Bishop and his priests. The Chrism Mass is a key moment in which the unity of the Bishop with his priests is manifested and renewed. During the Chrism mass liturgy, the entire assembly is called to renew its baptismal promises. All the deacons and priests of the diocese renew their commitment of obedience to the Bishop in the ministries to which he assigns them. I always look forward to the Chrism Mass each year.  It is a great time for all of us in our very large Diocese to get together as one. 
         As the priests renewed their vow of obedience at the Chrism Mass last night, I thought about how many aspects of our lives concern making choices, since a priest renewing his obedience to his bishop is indeed a choice.  There are good choices we can make, choices that bring us closer to God.  Then, there are choices that take us away from God, choices that can weigh us down. 
         In today's Gospel, we hear how Judas betrayed Jesus, how he shared the meal with Jesus and the rest of his disciples in celebration of the Jewish holidays, while at the same time knowing in his heart that he would deliver Jesus into the hands of those who wanted to kill him.  Judas is an example of choosing to go down the wrong road and abandoning our faith. 
         Then we have Jesus, the Son of God, who could have demanded that people serve him. But Jesus came to serve others, not to be served.  Tomorrow, on Holy Thursday, we will remember how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, an action usually performed by a slave or a servant for a guest who had just come in from the dirty streets.  Jesus came to serve and to help others, which is so different from the attitude that Judas had, how he would betray his friend for his own personal gain.
         As we observe Holy Week this week, let us remember all those things we need to get rid of so that we will be more like Jesus, who came to serve, and less like Judas, who betrayed Jesus and thought of his own gain.

25 de marzo de 2018 – Domingo de Ramos


     Escuchamos una meditación muy larga de la palabra de Dios en la Pasión de Jesucristo esta tarde.  Para escuchar la proclamación de la Pasión de nuestro Señor del Evangelio de San Mateo, es importante para imaginar nuestra presencia en este lugar con Jesucristo y con la muchedumbre, en las calles y los barrios de Jerusalén.  Como seguidores de Jesucristo, somos participantes y espectadores como los demás. 
      En la narración de nuestro Evangelio, muchas personas han tomado muchas decisiones en sus vidas de fe – muchas decisiones para muchos razones.   Jesús tomó la decisión para seguir su camino a la cruz, para seguir la voluntad de Dios, para reconocer su identidad como el Hijo de Dios.  Jesús conocía que era un camino peligroso, un camino de mucho dolor.  Pero, nuestro Señor tomó su decisión en el amor y la compasión que tenía para nosotros, para todo el mundo. 
      Afuera de Jesús, había otras personas en las calles de Jerusalén este día.  Ellos hicieron decisiones sobre su fe y su destino.  Judas tomó una decisión para ser traidor a su Maestro.  Judas podía tener muchas razones para justificar su decisión, pero había un elección humana por su parte.  Y Pedro, la piedra, decidió negar al Señor tres veces, decisiones humanas también.  Poncio Pilato tuvo una decisión, y en esta decisión, Pilato firmó la sentencia de muerte de Jesucristo.
     Nosotros tenemos decisiones y elecciones humanas cada día en nuestro camino de fe – decisiones y elecciones grandes y pequeñas. Podemos seguir los valores de nuestra fe católica.  Podemos seguir el camino de la cruz con Jesús, el camino de salvación.   O podemos negar el amor de Jesucristo en nuestra vida, podemos destruir la confianza que nuestros hermanos en Cristo tenemos en nosotros.  Podemos tener solidaridad con Cristo y su cruz, o podemos vivir afuera de su camino.  Es nuestra decisión.  Hoy, entramos en la Semana Santa.  Es una experiencia muy profunda en nuestra vida de fe.  Vamos a aceptar esta invitación para acompañar a Nuestro Señor en su camino a la cruz.  Y con nuestro camino esta Semana Santa, podemos tener gozo con nuestro Señor en la resurrección de Pascua. 

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Book Review - Love - by Ernesto Cardenal

This is the second book by Ernesto Cardenal that I have read in recent months.  This priest from Nicaragua, who started out religious life here with the Trappists under Thomas Merton, and later returned to his native land, has a very cosmological outlook, linking our lived reality as disciples of Christ with all creation, not only here on earth, but in the cosmos as well.  All of this flows out of God's love.  A very interesting book, very much a meditation on different topics and aspects of God's love.  I have had these two books of his for a while, and am so glad I was able to read them.  By the way, the preface of this book was written by Thomas Merton.  It was first published in Spanish in 1970 and in English in 1974.  Merton passed away in December 1968.  


Monday, March 12, 2018

Book Review - Ten Popes who Shook the World - by Eamon Duffy

This was a very interesting book, telling the stories of ten different popes throughout history who had a huge impact on the world. From Peter, the first pope, to John Paul II, the pope during the last part of the twentieth century, these men certainly had different styles and interacted in profound ways according to their personalities and the historical circumstances that confronted them during their papacy, whether it be Pius XII serving during WWII or Paul III during the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent.  This was a very enjoyable book and kept my interest on every page.  

St Peter
Leo the Great
Gregory the Great
Gregory VII
Innocent III
Paul III
Pius IX
Pius XII
John XXIII
John Paul II


Sunday, March 11, 2018

March 25, 2018 – Palm Sunday –


     Even though Jesus entered Jerusalem on a humble donkey, the crowd welcomed Jesus into this holy city like he was a triumphant conqueror.  The people were astonished at the majesty of his presence.  Yet, a short time afterwards, Jesus enters into his passion and death on a cross.  As he carried his cross, as he died this humiliating death, the crowds saw his appearance as lowly and  humble.  He became the object of public derision.  On Palm Sunday, as we commemorate our annual entry into Holy Week, we commemorate this paradox – these dual aspects – of our faith.  On Palm Sunday, with the reading of Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem and with the reading of the passion, there is both triumph and rejection.  With Jesus nailed to the cross, there is both death and a promise of rebirth.
     There were two different types of people that welcomed Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem.  Some of those who waved palms and shouted “Hosanna in the highest” were expecting a Messiah who would bring power. might, and military victories to the nation of Israel.  Others in the crowd were looking for someone who would bring them a new-found hope in the midst of their desolation and despair.  They wanted a Messiah who would understand their lowliness, who would bring healing and nourishment to their bodies and souls, who would be with them in their moments of misery and suffering. Which group are we with?  Are we willing to wave the palm branches this morning, seeing hope and new life and encouragement in the midst of our Lenten journey, in the midst of what is weighing down our hearts?
      Palm Sunday presents us a paradox.  It would be easy to try to simply it, to not wrestle with the paradox in our minds. We started out today’s liturgy by recalling the moment when Jesus was most accepted by the public in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then, we turn abruptly to the Passion, to his public betrayal and public failure.  While Jesus was ultimately betrayed by the public, while the laws of man condemned him, the law of God raises him up and the mind of God never leaves his side.  Jesus stays the course throughout his passion, even with all the internal and societal pressures that are weighing him down on this journey, that are wanting to bring him failure.  Thankfully, we know that the end of Holy Week will bring us hope and salvation, redemption and resurrection.   As we enter Palm Sunday today and trace Jesus’ journey every step of the way during this most Holy Week, may we sense God’s presence with us on our own journey, with the internal and outward pressures that weigh us all down. 

22 March 2018 - Thursday of the 5th week of Lent - Genesis 17:3-9


     God makes a covenant with Abraham and with his future generations.  At the end of today’s reading, it states, “God also said to Abraham: ‘On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.’”  
     One of the things that draws me to the pilgrimage of St James in Spain is the history of that pilgrimage.  It started in the 9th century when the remains of the St James the Apostle were rediscovered.  Some of the roads and bridges that I hike along on the pilgrimage route were constructed by the Romans.  Some of the churches that I visited are as old as 1,000 years old.  Sometimes, as I am walking along the trail, I stop and can almost hear the footsteps of the millions of pilgrims who traveled that route in faith before me.  Just I followed in the footsteps of those many pilgrims who traveled those roads before me, we roll in the footsteps of Abraham and his descendants, in the covenant he made with his people.  
      We may ask ourselves:  Are we adhering to the spirit of that covenant?  Are we fulfilling the purpose God intended for us as his people? 

21 March 2018 - Wednesday of the 5th week in Lent - John 8:31-42


      Jesus’ words today demonstrate a deep rift that existed between those Jews who believed in him and who tried to follow his teachings and those who saw him as a heretic and who wanted to destroy him.  Jesus sometimes speaks in language that confounds and confuses the people.  He talks about them being set free, but the people cannot get beyond those words, thinking that God had already set the Jews free in their liberation from slavery in Egypt.  We listen to words, we try to understand them, but sometimes we see them from our own perspective, not in their true context.  I think of how the word “fear” is used in Jewish scripture.  We hear the word “fear” in our 21st century modern American mentality, and we think of how we are scared and afraid of something, afraid of punishment or violence or retribution.  But to the Jewish mind, fear of God meant to have awe and wonder and respect for him.  Let us open our mind and hearts to God.  Let us try to learn the original intent of the word of God, of how it speaks to us today.  
        

Saturday, March 10, 2018

March 20, 2018 – Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent – Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 102


     I remember my first winter living in Winnipeg, Canada as a missionary– the cold, dreary gray days; the sub-freezing temperatures; the darkness that never seemed to end.   I felt like I was living in the frozen tundra of the Arctic. I became depressed as winter dragged on.  I remember going to confession one frigid dark Friday evening, as I explained my feeling to the priest.  His response to me was: It’s Canada in the middle of winter – we all feel down in the dumps in the dark, cold winter – don’t worry about it – spring will soon be here.
     Well, that was how I felt up in Canada in the middle of winter.  Try to imagine how the Israelites felt in the middle of their journey: tired, hungry, and thirsty. They gave up hope in the middle of a desert journey that seemed to never end.  They were fed up with their situation, so they turned against Moses and against God for having brought them to the hot, desolate, barren desert. Their life of bondage in Egypt seemed good in comparison to what they were enduring on the Exodus.  Where was God in all of this, they thought.                        
       It’s often easy for us to slip into hopelessness and despair in the midst of a difficult situation.  We may want to blame someone else for our misery and agony. When a loved one is sick or dies, when we are unemployed, when we fail at sometime: where do we find hope when our lives seem so dark and hopeless? 
        The Canadian winter felt like it would never end, but when spring and summer finally came, it was so full of joy and hope. The Canadians planted beautiful gardens, they spent time outside hiking or swimming or bike riding. They enjoyed every moment of beautiful weather they could get, knowing that another winter would be just around the corner.  They found God’s presence in the beauty of nature and in the grandeur of his creation.  I often found God’s presence in those dark, dreary winter days of the Canadian winters, but sometimes I had to really look for him.
         How do we open ourselves to God’s presence in our lives? We hear in today’s psalm: “O God, hear my prayer and let my cry come to you.”   Just as Moses and Jesus were able to bring God’s presence to his people in those difficult moments in their lives, we are also called to bring God’s presence to others in the midst of their reality, to bring God’s presence as we encounter him in the here and now.  As we continue our journey in these final days of Lent, may we continuously turn to God as we find him in the reality of our lives, opening ourselves and others to the love and the life that are present to us. Let us find hope in the Lord no matter where that reality finds us. 

Friday, March 9, 2018

18 de marzo de 2018 – quinto domingo de Cuaresma – Jeremías 32, 31-34; Salmo 51


     Caminamos con Jesús en el desierto durante los cuarenta días de Cuaresma.  La Iglesia nos llama a practicar las disciplinas de oración, ayuno, y obras de caridad para tener una experiencia profunda en este camino con Jesucristo.  Tal vez, en estas semanas de Cuaresma, podemos tener una experiencia muy eficaz y muy edificante.   Pero, tal vez, estamos en un lugar en nuestra vida donde estamos perdidos, donde buscamos la presencia de Cristo en nuestra vida, y no podemos encontrarlo en ningún lugar.  Tal vez, las semanas de cuaresma en un camino de frustración y confusión.
       Dios está con nosotros en la realidad de nuestra vida – es seguro.  En esta realidad, escuchamos el mensaje del profeta Jeremías hoy en el tercer domingo de cuaresma. Jeremías nos habla de la nueva alianza que tenemos con Dios, de la nueva alianza que Dios establecería con su pueblo.  El Señor pondría su ley en la totalidad de nuestras vidas – Él va a escribirla en la profundidad de nuestros corazones.  Por Jeremías, Dios nos dice: “Todos me van a conocer, desde el más pequeño hasta el mayor de todos, cuando yo les perdone sus culpas y olvide para siempre sus pecados”.  Dios va a perdonarnos de nuestros pecados. Dios no habla sobre el castigo, sino por el perdón. 
       Jeremías profetizaba en Israel durante una época muy dura en su historia. El pueblo de Israel no escuchaba la voz de Dios.  Era desobediente y rebelde.  El pueblo ha abandonado la ley y los mandamientos de Dios.   El pueblo ha escuchado los profetas falsas.  En los 52 capítulos de Jeremías, el profeta hablaba mucho sobre la ira de Dios contra su pueblo.  Pero, también, en las palabras del profeta, Dios habla sobre su amor infinito, un amor que puede perdonar y olvidar todo nuestro mal, todos nuestros pecados. 

       Pero, necesitamos una respuesta a este mensaje de Dios.  El salmista contesta – “Dios, crea en mí un corazón puro, renuévame por dentro con espíritu firme; no me arrojes lejos de tu rostro, no me quites tu santo espíritu.”  El salmista es humilde y arrepentido.  El reconoce la autoridad de Dios en su vida.  El reconoce sus culpas y quiere su perdón.  El quiere cambiar su vida – cambiar su manera de vivir.  Podemos orar las palabras de este salmo cuando queremos arrepentir de nuestros pecados, de nuestros delitos.  Podemos orar estas palabras para pedir una conversión al Señor, para implorar su misericordia y su compasión.
        En la realidad de nuestra vida, en la realidad de nuestros pecados y nuestros sufrimientos, no podemos olvidar la realidad de Cristo en estas semanas de cuaresma.  No podemos olvidar nuestro Señor, que se hizo hombre, que vivió y sufrió y murió y resucitó para salvarnos y redimirnos.  En la luz que Cristo llevó a nuestra vida, tenemos una participación en su resurrección y en su vida eterna.