11/19/2014 – Wednesday of 33rd week in Ordinary Time – Luke 19:11 -28

      Last Sunday, we heard the parable of the talents from the Gospel of Matthew.  Today we hear a similar message in a parable from the Gospel of Luke.  Each of the 10 servants receives a coin – the equivalent of about 3 months of wages according to Scripture Scholars.  Those who invest their coin and use what the king gives to them are rewarded, but the servant who keeps the coin hidden is punished.  The end of the parable says that Jesus continued on his journey to Jerusalem.   Jerusalem is where Jesus met his death on the cross, but it is also the place of resurrection and salvation as well. 

       Our parable is about a king – and this Sunday we will celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King at the end of our Liturgical Year.  And we get ready for the start of Advent as we prepare for the coming Christmas season.  These past seven days, I have presided over four different funerals as a priest.  Some of those parishioners who passed away I knew very well, while two of them I did not know very well at all.   But we are all children of God and part of the community of faith.   We live out of faith in different ways.  We strive toward perfection, but due to our human failings, we never reach that perfection, so we ask pardon and forgiveness of God and of our brothers and sisters.  Sometimes life can be very sad.  When we lose a loved one, it is a sad occasion indeed.  But we do our best.  And we continue on our journey.  How are we using the gifts God gives use – today and everyday.  Because we just don’t know when our journey on earth will come to an end. 

11/21/2014 – Friday of 33rd week in ordinary time – Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary– Revelation 10:8-11

      Several times in Sacred Scripture, prophets are told to eat pages of God’s Holy Word.  This happens to the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah in the Old Testament.  But, today, we hear it happen to John in the book of Revelation.  Asking these men to actually eat the pages of God’s word is symbolic of how the word is supposed to become a part of their entire being.  God wants us to digest his Word, for it to become a part of us, and for us to assimilate his Word into our lives entirely.  By eating God’s Word, John acquired a greater understand of it.

      And that is the thing about the Word of God.   If we believe in the truth contained in it, it is more than mere information.   Instead, it is a transformative experience in our lives.  Right now, we are being pressured by our society to accept its version of what is truth, often based upon what is politically correct.  Sometimes God’s Word can be difficult and challenging.  It can make us uncomfortable.  God’s Word sometimes requires us to make sacrifices.   But, if we truly apply God’s Word into our lives, it will transform us and change us.  Then, there will be no turning back.

        Today, we celebrate the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple in our Church’s liturgical calendar.  This event does not have a direct reference in the Gospels, but it can be traced to other first century writings & to tradition in the early Church.  Tradition teaches us that 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 and the mother of Church.  We can use our imagination and our understanding of Mary from Scripture and from tradition to reflect upon what her childhood and her journey of faith might have been like before the annunciation with the Angel Gabriel.  Although Mary probably spent much time in the Temple and in the study of God’s Word and tradition, she also probably spent a lot of time with St. Anne and 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.  Like Mary and the prophets, may we allow God’s Word and the calling he gives us to transform our lives and make us truly his disciples. 

11/16/2014 – Sunday of 33rd week in Ordinary Time – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, Matthew 25:14-30

      For you know that the Day of the Lord will certainly come like a thief in the night.  People will say “peace and security,” but suddenly, disaster will come.  And the people will not escape. Paul wrote these words to the Christian community he founded at the bustling Greek seaport of Thessalonica.  The members of that community had converted to the Way of Jesus from pagan religions.  They put aside all the other messages that were calling out to them in the world, choosing to follow the Way of faith.  Paul had to leave that community abruptly, but he remained concerned for their welfare.  He wrote them a letter of encouragement and advice in the midst of the trials and persecutions that they were experiencing.  Paul told them that the Second Coming of the Lord would come at an unexpected and unannounced time, so they needed to be ready.

       Even though Paul wrote those words in the middle of the first century, they still speak to us in our present day.  Today – November 16, 2014 – is the 25th anniversary of the martyrs of El Salvador, of 8 Catholics who were killed for their faith in that small country in Central America.  Since the early days of the Church, martyrs have had a special place in the community of saints. As we honor and remember these martyrs from El Salvador, we might wonder: How do their lives and their stories affect us in our lives here in Mississippi? These killings took place in November 1989 at the height of the Salvadoran civil war.  The military forces in that country were ordered to kill Jesuit Father Ignacio Ellacuría, the rector of the University of Central America, and to leave no witnesses.   So they killed him with the 5 other priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter who were all present at the residence on that day.

       Why would military forces want to kill a Catholic priest?  It was out of fear of the message that he proclaimed.   That message reached out to the pain of the people that he saw around him in a country torn apart by Civil War.  That message cut to the heart of the poverty and the oppression that afflicted so much of the population in El Salvador.  Why was there so much injustice?  Why is the oppression in our society overlooked?  These Jesuit priests asked those questions and those in power felt threatened, taking action to destroy these priests and the message they brought to the world, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why it is important for us to remember these 6 Jesuits priests and their companions who were murdered.

          It is without a doubt an inspiring story, but what is the connection to us?  We think of all the justice issues we are grappling with as a society.  Last summer, we heard about the many accompanied minors were coming to our country to start a new life from places like El Salvador.  What the home countries doing to remedy the harsh situation so many of its citizens facing, forcing them to flee for their lives?  And how is the Gospel challenging us here in the United States to respond?  Immigration reform is a topic that divides our country and that sparks a lot of arguments and debates.  How are our Gospel values asking us to respond to the immigrants who are looking for answers, for hope,  and for a safe place to live?  Do we respond in fear and anger?  Or do we respond as children of the light, as Paul calls the Thessalonians.   We all know that we have a lot of complicated issues that face our country and our world, and burying our heads in the sand and not taking action is not what our faith calls us to do. 

      The Jesuits have said that the lives and the loss of these martyrs in El Salvador have influenced the Jesuit community in the United States and throughout the world, calling them to think about what it means to be a parish community or a Catholic school.  It harkens us to think about what it means to address issues of social justice in our Church.  

        We shouldn’t be afraid to bring up the Gospel of Justice in our world.  In fact, with the topic of so-called “mercy killing” or euthanasia making news, Pope Francis this weekend called it is a false sense of compassion to say that euthanasia brings dignity when it is in fact an act against God and against creation.   Some may criticize our Pope, our Bishops, and our Priests when we bring up topics that may be controversial in society.   However,  what so many admire about Pope Francis is that he is real.  He is not afraid to have a conversation, to listen, to challenge, to look at the reality around us right in the face.  And he wants us to infuse the world with the values of our faith in the same way.

       I recently read a staggering statistic: 50 years ago, about 75% Catholics went to mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation.  Today, of those who identify themselves as Catholic, only about 25% regularly attend Sunday mass.  And if we feel like we aren’t getting out of mass what we need to, what are we doing to change that?  Going to mass is not like going to a movie or to a football game.  It is not entertainment.  It is a holy encounter with God. 

       God gives us gifts and talents – we are not to conserve them or hide them like the one servant in the Gospel today.  Let us not be afraid to dream, to take risks, to challenge others in the faith.   As Paul says, let us be children of the light.

11/18/2014 - Tuesday of 33rd week in ordinary time- Luke 19:1-10

      How often do we make an extraordinary effort to search for God in our lives and to find the ways he is present to us?  Today, we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus.  We know a lot about him from the Gospel – he is short in stature, a wealthy man, and one of the despised chief tax collectors. Zacchaeus literally climbs a tree and goes out on a limb in order to find God in his life.  In meeting Jesus, in having Jesus call after him, Zacchaeus responds with his conversion and repentance.  He offers to give half of his possessions to the poor, showing he is willing to make amends to those whom he extorted money from during his work as a chief tax collector. 

      God calls us in the reality and the circumstances of our lives, just as he called out to Zacchaeus while he was up in that tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus in the midst of the dense crowd. In our Church, we commemorate the martyrs who have given their lives for the faith.   A couple of weeks ago, we commemorated those who were martyred for the faith in the Spanish Civil War.  Just this past Sunday, November 16^th, was the anniversary of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter, who were all martyred in the country of El Salvador in Central America in 1989 at their residence at the university.  I mentioned them in the homily we had this past weekend.   They gave up their lives for the faith in the midst of a revolution and great political turmoil in this poor Latin American Country.  They were there as witnesses of our faith in the harsh reality that existed in that country.   In March of 1980, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, was also gunned down by the military while he was celebrating mass, and his cause is moving forward toward beatification. In our own way, in the reality of our own lives, we are also called to go out on a limb in order to find Jesus in our own lives and to be witnesses for the faith.  “The struggle against injustice and the pursuit of truth cannot be separated nor can one work for one independent of the other.”  These are words spoken by Father Ignatio Ellacuria, the superior of that Jesuit community that was martyred.   His profound words challenge us to live out the justice that God’s truth calls us to, a justice that cannot be separated from our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.   So, as we reflect upon today’s Gospel story of Zacchaeus, might ask ourselves this question: How is God challenging us today to go out on a limb and to live out and proclaim his justice in our lives?

11/14/2014 – Friday of 32nd week in Ordinary Time – Luke 17:26-37

       In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus recounts the disobedience that has a part of the history of the people of Israel.  He recalls not only the story of Noah and the ark, but also the dramatic story from Genesis about the Lord’s destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which took place because the people willfully sinned against God and his law, as they were unwilling to repent and to change their hearts.  Lot and his family were spared destruction because their faith was a glimmer of hope in the midst of so much darkness. In all of the chaos of fleeing to the safety that God promised to them, Lot’s wife still disobeys the Lord and his orders, suffering the consequences by being turned into a pillar of salt.  Jesus reminds us of these story to illustrate the importance of being obedient to God, of following his will in our lives, of the consequences we will endure for our sinful actions.  In the United States, rugged individualism and self-expression is held in so high esteem.  Some think that our freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever is on our minds and to lash out at others in anger and hatred.  Sometimes we write a text or an email in that anger, not realizing the damage we can do, not realizing that our words are not proclaiming God’s kingdom or building it up here on earth.  So often we want to follow our own will or the ways of the world that call out to us so strongly.  However, Jesus tells us that those who are disobedient will pay the price.  J. May we heed this warning.

11/09/2014 - La Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán - Ezequiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12; Juan 2: 13-22

       Las celebraciones en el calendario litúrgico nos dicen mucho acerca de nuestra Iglesia y de nuestra historia.  Durante la liturgia del domingo pasado, celebramos el Día de los Fieles Difuntos con nuestras oraciones por las almas en la vida eterna, especialmente en el proceso de purificación en el purgatorio. Hoy día, el 9 de noviembre, celebramos la Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan Letrán en Roma, una de las cuatro grandes basílicas ubicadas en la ciudad santa de Roma.  La Basílica de San Juan de Letrán es la catedral de Roma y la catedral del Papa,  y la iglesia de bautismo de la antigua Roma.  También se conoce como la Iglesia del Santísimo Salvador y la Iglesia de San Juan Bautista y San Juan Evangelista.  Fue construido como palacio de la familia Laterani, pasó a manos del emperador Constantino por la parte de su esposa, y luego se consagró como catedral por el Papa Silvestre en 324. Esta fiesta se convirtió en una celebración universal en la Iglesia en honor de la basílica llamada "la madre y maestra de todas las iglesias de Roma y del mundo", como un signo de amor y unión con la Santa sede de Pedro, el Obispo de Roma.

         En cada una de las lecturas de hoy, se menciona algún aspecto de nuestro lugar de culto.  El profeta Ezequiel tiene una visión de un nuevo templo con agua que da la vida que fluye de ella en nuestra primera lectura. Israel tenía muchos conflictos en su historia. Se convirtió en un reino dividido y abandonó su relación con Dios muchas veces.  Mientras que él estaba en el exilio, Ezequiel respondió a la llamada del Señor a ser su santo profeta. En sus visiones y en sus profecías, Ezequiel se convirtió en un instrumento del Señor, llamando a su pueblo de regresar a su fe. Ezequiel hizo muchos sacrificios para seguir esta llamada.  En un momento dado, el Señor le pidió que se acostó sobre su lado un día por cada año en que los israelitas fueron desobedientes a Dios.  Pero, en la lectura de hoy, Ezequiel hablaba de la gloria del templo reconstruido cuando los Judios estará de regreso en Jerusalén después de regresar de su exilio.

      Al escuchar esta lectura de Ezequiel, también tenemos la llamada por nuestra Diócesis y por nuestra Conferencia Estadounidense de los Obispos Católicos para celebrar la Semana de Concientización de Vocaciones también. Como Dios llamó a Ezequiel para traer a la gente de vuelta a su fe, nuestro proceso de la nueva evangelización en la Iglesia Católica trata de llevar nuestra fe a la gente y los lugares afuera de la Iglesia.  Los jóvenes quienes pueden mirar los señales de nuestro mundo moderno y que tienen una vocación en la Iglesia necesitan servir en este trabajo. Recientemente he leído, que en comparación del año 1960, nuestra Iglesia en los Estados Unidos tiene 20.000 menos sacerdotes y 129.000 menos religiosas, pero, también, tenemos mas católicos y mas necesidades en nuestra Iglesia hoy. Muchas personas están llamadas a la vocación de la vida matrimonial y están llamados a diversas vocaciones profesionales en el mundo.  Sin embargo, necesitamos sacerdotes, diáconos, miembros consagrados de las congregaciones religiosas, catequistas y ministros laicos para llevar a cabo la misión de Cristo en el mundo y en la Iglesia.  El Francisco ha explicó: "Detrás y delante de toda vocación al sacerdocio o a la vida consagrada es siempre la oración fuerte e intensa de alguien: una abuela, un abuelo, una madre, un padre, una comunidad ... Las vocaciones nacen en la oración y de la oración: y sólo a través de la oración pueden preservar y dar sus frutos ".

        Nuestra Iglesia es universal y local. Hoy, celebramos la Dedicación de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán, pero la celebración de hoy también nos llama de nuevo a la importancia de nuestro propio lugar de culto, de la construcción y el fortalecimiento de nuestra comunidad parroquial aquí en Tupelo. La Semana de Concientización de Vocaciones llama la atención para la necesidad de vocaciones en nuestra Iglesia y la necesidad de cada persona a discernir dónde Dios lo llama en su vocación. Nos oramos en solidaridad con la Iglesia universal, que todos los jóvenes en la sociedad de hoy pueden escuchar la llamada de Dios para ellos en sus vidas y ser capaces de responder a ella con valentía y fe.

11/13/2014 – Thursday of 32nd week in Ordinary Time - Philemon 7-20

      During the past few weeks, our first readings have been from the letters of Paul rather than readings from the Old Testament.   Today our reading is from his letter to Philemon.  Many Christians probably could not even name this book as a part of the New Testament.  It is by far the shortest of Paul’s letters, not even being organized in chapters, and containing only 355 words in the original Greek.  That’s very short, isn’t it? What strikes me about this letter is that Paul wrote it while he was in prison himself, probably in Rome.  But Paul is not interested in his own safety and well-being, but rather in the welfare of the runaway slave Onesimus, who was returning to his owner, Philemon.  Paul’s journey is so interesting, as he started out being a prosecutor of Christian, wanting them to be arrested or to be killed.   And now he is willing to do anything to spread the Gospel to the world, even to go to prison for the sake of the Gospel.  When I was in Rome a few years ago at the Basilica of St Paul just outside the walls of the ancient city of Rome, I even got to see a piece of the chains that enslaved Paul when he was in prison. Paul wrote to so many different Christian communities as their spiritual father, one who spent so much time nurturing them in the faith.  He even calls Onesimus his spiritual son in the faith, his own very heart.

     For Paul, God was not some ambiguous concept or some far away being in the heavens.  Jesus was his Lord and his Savior.   Jesus led Paul to the faith and to salvation. Do we see ourselves nurturing others like Paul did, reaching out to others in the faith?