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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

View of Pearl River

Old naval reserve building in downtown Jackson.

Old abandoned building on outskirts of downtown Jackson. 

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

Book review - Flambards in Summer - by K M Peyton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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