11/21/2011 – Homily for Monday of 34th week in ordinary time – presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Luke 21:1-4

      In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the importance of sacrificing for our faith, how the two coins that the widow gives as an offering, coins that represent all that she has, means much more than a huge sum of money that a wealthy man gives out of his surplus.  This Gospel has such a strong message for us in our modern world. On the day we hear about sacrifice, we celebrate the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple, an event which does not have a direct reference in the Gospels, but can be traced to other first century writings & to tradition in the early Church. 

       Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was a young girl.  She must have spent a great deal of time in the Temple preparing for her eventual role as the mother of our Lord & the mother of Church.  We can use our imagination & our understanding of Mary from Scripture & tradition to reflect upon what her childhood & her journey of faith might have been like before the annunciation.  We can also ask ourselves how we can turn to Mary and ask her to help prepare us for our mission as Christians in our modern world. 

       Although Mary probably spent much time in the Temple & in the study of Jewish Scripture & tradition, she also probably spent a lot of time with St. Anne & St. Joachim, her mother & father, growing up in a loving family who exposed her to the reality of life around her, including the sufferings of the poor. Mary was full of grace, but I also imagine that her parents and her upbringing fostered and encouraged her empathy and compassion, her generosity and humble nature, her empathy and forgiveness. 

       May the example of the Virgin Mary encourage us as we travel along our own journey of faith. It's so easy to have a cynical vision of our world, & to have that cynicism & sarcasm seep into our lives of faith.  Look at how so many in our society place their faith in trust in their wealth and riches, thinking that those things will bring them redemption and happiness. May the Virgin Mary be an example of Christian love & virtue for us in how we should live our lives of faith, to combat the skepticism, sarcasm, and cynicism of our modern secular world.

11/25/2011 – Homily for Friday of 34rd week of Ordinary Time – Luke 21:29-33 - Reflection on the Gospel

         Jesus talked a lot to his disciples about the signs of the times.  Today, he talks about how we human beings can tell what is happening in the changing of the seasons by the signs we see in nature, from the way we can tell that summer is near from the buds that form on the fig tree.  I know that there are a lot of farmers here in our parishes that look to the signs in weather and in the changing of the seasons to help them in deciding as to what and when to plant and to harvest. 

         Many of Jesus’ followers had a hard time reading the signs of the times.  In fact, those in the early years after his death and resurrection were sure that the end times would come in their own lifetime.  Yet, here we are, about 2,000 years later, and we still are awaiting the end times.  And the documents of the Second Vatican Council also tell us to read the signs of the times in the way we live out our faith and in the way we proclaim God’s kingdom in our lives. 

We are faced with a lot of changes in our Church in a very short time as well.  We will receive the new Roman missal this weekend, and on Saturday we say goodbye to our current liturgical year with the beginning of Advent and the new liturgical year on Sunday.  With the Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us, may we live out the faith with the signs of the times that God is communicating to us.  

11/25/2011 – Homily for Friday of the 34th week of Ordinary Time – Daniel 7:2-14 – Reflection on the Old Testament Reading

        We hear a very fanciful vision from the book of Daniel today, when Daniel has a vision of four strange beasts.  Yet, these beasts are stripped of all their heavenly authority.  The son of man comes down on the clouds of heaven, being given all heavenly authority, all power and sovereignty.  All nations and peoples worship the son of man.  We may not all have a fanciful vision like Daniel, God may not appear to us in a vision or a dream in such a dramatic way, but we all know in our hearts that Jesus, the Son of Man, is to be given all of our praise and glory for the power and authority that has been given over to him by the Father.  Although we do not see the Son in such a vision, we see his face in many different manifestations as he is present to us in our world.  Yesterday, we celebrated Thanksgiving, the day when we as families and as a nation give thanks to the Lord for all of the blessings he has given us in our lives.  And this weekend, we enter in the holy season of Advent, a time of preparation and conversion, when we prepare for the coming of the Lord into our world.  May we give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ today, giving him authority and dominion over our will and over our lives.  

11/24/2011 – Thanksgiving – Thursday of 34th week of ordinary time Sirach 50:22-24; Psalm 145

       Today, we come together to give thanks to the Lord on a day that our country sets aside to give thanks.  Our country’s holiday of Thanksgiving has its roots in who we are as a nation, of Pilgrim immigrants who came from England in search of religious freedom, of the native people here in America who helped them grow food and adapt to the harsh environment in which they lived.  Giving thanks also has roots in who we are as Catholics, as the very word “Eucharist”, as the celebration that we have as a community of faith around the Lord’s table, comes from the Greek word of “thanksgiving”. 

         Ben Sirach was a Jewish scribe who lived a couple of centuries in Jerusalem before the birth of Jesus.  In today’s first reading, Sirach, who was known for his great wisdom, gives his blessing to the Lord of all, the Lord who has done wondrous things here on earth.  He is the Lord who created us in our mothers’ wombs, who fashions us as we grow through life, who helps us and guides us according to his will.  In our joys, in our sorrows, may we give thanks for the way the Lord has accompanied us through the ups and downs of our lives.  Even in our struggles, we can find blessings, we can find reasons to give thanks.  Many of the young men I meet in prison tell me that they were in worse prisons even before they became inmates, having been imprisoned by addictions to drugs and alcohol, by violence and uncontrolled desires in their lives even before they were sentenced.  By coming to prison, for many of them it is a wakeup call, an awareness of God in their lives, of how they need to follow him in their lives.

In today’s Gospel, we hear of the leper who gives thanks to God today, who recognizes the wonders and the healing that God has accomplished in his life.  As we gather with our families and friends today for food and fellowship, may we give thanks to the Lord for all of the blessings he gives us in our lives.  Perhaps we are so absorbed into the day-to-day reality and the struggles we are currently going through.  Perhaps we need to take a moment to recognize all of the things for which we need to be thankful.  May we join the psalmist in saying, “I will praise your name for ever, Lord”; I will thank you for your mercy and your kindness. 

11/22/2011 – Tuesday - Memorial of St Cecilia - Tuesday of the 34th week of ordinary time – Luke 21:5-11

       Jesus talks about the end times and the signs that will accompany the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem.  The Temple was the centerpiece of the worship of the Jewish people.  They had seen it destroyed more than 5 centuries earlier when many of the people were exiled to Babylon.  They then had seen it rebuilt with great sacrifice and great effort.  Jesus tells us the there will be many people coming to us with signs and with answers, but that we should not be deceived by these false prophets.  You may remember Rev. Harold Camping, who predicted that world would come to an end back on May 21 of this year, and then he revised his prediction to October 21.  Well, we are still here, and Rev. Camping is giving various rambling explanations as to why his predictions had failed.  Yet, he is still scouring the Bible, trying to predict again when the earth will come to an end. 

         Yet, what if we were to live each day being ready whenever the world will come to an end.  If we are true to our faith, if we follow God’s will in our lives, whatever that may be, then we will be ready, no matter when it comes. 

         Today, we celebrate the memorial of St Cecilia, one of the most honored saints from the early Church.  I saw the catacombs where St Cecilia was buried when I went to Rome earlier in the year, which was a very memorable and touching experience. Tradition has it that Cecilia died as a young girl, but that her faith was so strong that she sang her heart to the Lord as she was put to death by the Romans.  Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and Church music. 

         Although Cecilia lived way back in the 2^nd century, we still celebrate her faith today.  Although she died a young girl, she lived a life full of faith and full of love, a faith that speaks out to us across time and space.  May we live each day to its fullest, giving glory to God, doing all we can to give him honor and praise. 

11/4/2011 – St Charles Borromeo – homily for the Friday of the 31st week in ordinary time - Romans 15:14-21

       Today, we hear the concluding section to Paul’s letter to the Romans, as he addresses his audience in very personal and endearing terms.  Paul wants them to know about his true motives in writing this letter.  He lets them know of the goodness he sees in them, how he sees them being full of knowledge and being able to instruct one another.  In this passage, we hear of Paul’s zeal and enthusiasm in bringing the Gospel to others, to the Gentile who have not yet been exposed to God’s holy word. 

         As Catholics, Charles Borromeo might not be very well known to us, but he is also an important missionary and prophet in our Church, just as St Paul was.  Borromeo lived in the era of the Protestant Reformation, a time when our Church was under great scrutiny and great attack.  He was born into nobility in Milan Italy, being related to the powerful Medici family.  When his uncle was elected as Pope Pius IV, Borromeo became the cardinal and administrator of the important Italian Archdiocese of Milan.  He was named Bishop of Milan at a very young age.  He was very influential in the Council of Trent, and is well-known for promoting the system of seminaries that we have today to educate our priests.  Charles Borromeo could have lived a life of great luxury and privilege, but he gave much of his wealth to charity, led a very simple life, and took out enormous debts in order to feed the victims of the plague in his city. 

         Like Charles Borromeo and St Paul, we are all called to lives of holiness in our own way.  May all of us be able to discern the ways to which God is calling us to live out our lives of faith. 

10/27/2011 – homily for Thursday of the 30th week in ordinary time – Romans 8:31-39

      We have been hearing excerpts from Paul’s letter to the Romans in the first readings in our daily masses. Paul tells us that he is convinced that nothing will separate us from our faith, from our relationship with Christ – not death, not life, not angels or principalities, not powers or height or depth.  No creature will be able to separate us from the love of God that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

         If we could all have such a faith, such a confidence in our relationship with Christ.  We see many in our world today who are so easily led astray, who abandon their faith for so many different reasons.  Yet, if we could have confidence in our Lord, if we could see ourselves as abiding in God’s love and as bringing that love to our world, perhaps we could bring ourselves to believe with Paul that nothing could ever lead us away from the faith. 

         We live in a very uncertain world today.  Many people have lost their jobs and are looking for a stable way to support their families.  Many have lost faith in the government to provide us leadership and stability in our society.  Many feel uneasy about the terrorism and violence that is so widespread throughout our world.  Yet, God will get us through all we have to endure in this world.  Our love in God will survive all that can bring us down in this world.  As Paul states, the love we have in God cannot be separated by anguish, or distress, or famine, or persecution, or peril, or sword.  May today’s word bring us confidence and strength.  

10/28/2011 – homily for the Feast of Jude and Simon, Apostles – Luke 6:12-16

       As we celebrate the feast of St Jude and St Simon today, two of Jesus’ apostles, we can reflect upon how much we really don’t know about most of these men who were called to be apostles.  Jude is mentioned in the list of apostles in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts, but he is not mentioned elsewhere, and we know no other facts about him from Scripture.  Scripture tells us that Simon was a Zealot, a group in ancient Israel that was very nationalistic, a group that hoped that the Messiah would come to liberate them from all foreign powers, to bring them political glory and military power.  Since the early Church, Simon and Jude have been associated with one another, and Tradition tells us that they brought the Gospel to the people of Persia and died as martyrs for the faith.

         No, we don't know about many of the apostles, be we do know that the faith we have now in our modern world was passed down by them, that they suffered and sacrificed in order to spread God’s word throughout the world.  As we hear in the Gospel of the 12 apostles whom Jesus called by name, we know that they were not the richest, not the most intelligent, not from the best families in society, but rather men with great flaws such as tax collectors and zealots and men who were so fiery that they were called “the sons of thunder.”  In the midst of all of our flaws and weaknesses, the Lord calls us as his followers, to live out our faith in the reality of our lives.  May we all hear that call. 

10/26/2011 – homily for Wednesday of the 30th week of ordinary time - Romans 8:26-30

      Today, we celebrate Blessed Contardo Ferrini, a member of the community of saints who possibly is not very familiar to us.  Blessed Contardo was born in 1859 and lived in the last half of the 19^th century, but he died at the young age of 42.  Originally from Milan, Italy, he became a professor at the University of Paris, becoming an expert on Roman law.  He spent a great deal of time reconciling his faith with science. This brings up an issue that is  important to us today in our modern world, of how we can see our faith as relevant & alive in the midst of our secular world and in the midst of all the science, technology, and knowledge that we use each day.  Alongside his scholarly research, he attended mass daily & was a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul & a third order Franciscan. 

         I think that most of us look for grand & profound ways in which we can proclaim God’s kingdom, but I think that this quote by Blessed Contardo Ferrini puts it all into perspective – “If on any particular day we do nothing more than give a little joy to a neighbor, that day will not be wasted. For we have succeeded in giving comfort to an immortal soul."

         Paul knew that the Holy Spirit of God comes to us in the reality we face in our lives, as he tells us in his letter to the Romans that the Spirit comes our aide in the midst of our weaknesses, for the Spirit knows that we are not quite sure how to pray and to communicate with God.  Paul tells us that if we search our hearts, we will know the intention of the Spirit, for the Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God.  May the Spirit help us to follow our faith and the will of God in the midst of our journey in the modern world.  No matter how difficult it may seem, may we always follow the Lord in the midst of our joys, our sorrows, and our struggles.