Jun 28, 2009. Homily, June 30, 2009.

Matthew 8:25-27.

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey!"

The Gospel of the Lord.

1 Cor. 15:12, 51-55. Some did not believe in the resurrection. Paul taught that the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of all His teaching. Without His resurrection, His words had no effect. With the resurrection, Jesus had conquered death. Then, He and we may say: Jesus has conquered death. "Where, O Death, is your victory. Where, O Death, is your sting?" Here, in this Gospel, with a violent storm at sea, the disciples of Jesus were "terrified". Of what were they terrified? Of death. But we believe today in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. By His resurrection, Jesus conquered Death. By His Resurrection, Jesus conquered fear of Death. His disciples caught in the violent storm were "terrified" of Death. The "great calm" of Jesus reassured His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. His great calm reassures us. We may say, with Paul, "Jesus has conquered Death. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?"

June 25, 2009. Homily, June 27, 2009.

Matthew 7:21-29.

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go' as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour, his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her,and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons,and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick. to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet.

He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

The Gospel of the Lord.

A centurion commanded 100 men. This centurion had been good to the Jews and built for them a synagogue. He was respectful to the Jews not wishing Jesus to enter his house for then Jesus would become religiously impure. He loved the lowly including his servant. Notice what the centurion did. He told Jesus only that his "servant", in Aramaic and Latin, the same word meant both servant and child, was "lying at home, paralyzed suffering dreadfully". Jesus offered, "I will come and cure him." But the centurion says,"I am not worthy for our to enter under my roof. Merely say the word and he will be cured." But where is the servant? in the centurion's house. Wher is that. And where in the centurion's house? In what room? On what floor? And what is his disease? We only know that he is paralyzed and suffering dreadfully.

June 22, 2009. Homily, June 23, 2009

Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to His disciples: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Do to others, whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."

The Gospel of the Lord.

These quotations are all from the Sermon on the Mount which also contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father.

The first quote is on the dignity of man. You are a worthwhile being. You must treat yourself with respect. One must treat oneself with respect. You are the home of your soul. Your soul is the speck of life created in you by the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life.  Do not abuse your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And the second quote is the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them  do to you. Jesus says that the Golden Rule sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The third quote tells us that discipline is essential to any argument. As the way we conduct our lives is our argument at to why we should be admitted into Heaven. So we must discipline the way we live that life. Remember when we studied Shakespeare and learned about the sonnet and then we had to write our own sonnets. They had to be in iambic pentameter, be fourteen lines and rhyme (the octet abab  cdcd and the sextet efef gg in the Shakespearean sonnet or the octet abba abba and the sextet  cde cde in the Italian sonnet).  And they would be on some abstract theme: Love, our love for our Father or our Mother or some idealized person of the opposite sex. It seemed so difficult to cram that huge abstract thought into the sonnet form, but when you did it, you realized that the stricture of the form made the expressed thought more powerful. So here this is the argument of Jesus. hen we take our life through the narrow gate and down the constricted road we are on the way to eternal life.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by an acquaintance, "Why do you care for these people? They are dirty, they are sick, they are poor, and they are dying." Mother Teresa's answer was, "I am preparing them to meet the Lord Jesus Christ."

June 18, 2009. Wedding, June 21, 2009.

Good afternoon. We are here for the wedding of Michael and Melissa. We have an opening prayer, the first reading, the second reading, the Gospel, a homily, the marriage ceremony, the blessing and the exchange of the rings, the unity candle, the petitions, and the Final Blessing.

Opening Prayer p. 38A

Let us pray:

[pause for some moments of silence]

Father, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery,

a symbol of Christ’s love for his Church.

Hear our prayers for Michael and Melissa.

With faith in you and in each other they pledge their love today.

May their lives always bear witness to the reality of that love.

We ask this though our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.   R. Amen.

The first reading:

Gen. 2:18-25.

Then the LORD GOD said, “It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper as his partner.” So  out of the ground the LORD GOD formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field, but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the LORD GOD caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD GOD had taken from the man he made into  a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said:

“This at last is bone of my bones

  and flesh of my flesh;

  this one shall be called Woman,

        for out of Man this one was taken.”

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

A Hymn

The second reading:

1 Cor. 13:1-13:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude, It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.  But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.  For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully,even as I have been fully known. And now, faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

The Gospel:

The Lord be with you.  R. And also with you.

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew {Matthew 18:16-20].

[Jesus said] “Truly I tell  you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Michael and Melissa, brothers ands sisters in Christ:

When I read the words of the marriage vow, Mike and Melissa will hold hands. But not alone.  When I read those words, every couple in the Church will reach out to join hands. For those who have received the sacrament of marriage are not alone. For they have God with them.  That is God's promise: “[I tell you that] where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” All married couples in the Catholic Church are married in God's name.

Michael and Melissa, when they stand together, you stand together in God's name, and God is there with you. And not only God, not only Jesus Christ, but also every other married couple in the Catholic Church is with you. Your parents are with you. Your married brothers and sisters are with you. And just as all deceased members of the Church are one in the holy body of the Church, so too your grandparents and great-grandparents and their ancestors back to the beginning of time are with you.

Michael and Melissa, from this day forward, you will grow together, like two vines side by side, wrapping around each other, one day one stronger, the next day the other stronger, but always together, with God, both stronger. 

Prayer is available to you. The Church and the Church’s great prayer, the Mass, is available to you. Every married couple will look to you for sustenance for support and you will look to them for sustenance, for support, they are with you, and you are with them. 

Open your hearts and prepare for God's blessing. I bless you in the name, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

RITE OF MARRIAGE  p. 23-26.

BLESSING AND EXCHANGE OF RINGS (in a dish, sprinkle holy water)

Unity Candle

Petitions

Final Blessing  p. 84

The couple goes to the Blessed Virgin at the head of the stairs.

June 15, 2009. Homily, June 16, 2009.

Matthew 5: 43-48.

Jesus said to His disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

The Gospel of the Lord.

How hard this Gospel is. But then do we not want God to be perfect, and do we not want His standard to be one we may strive for.  Remember Sister Mary Ann?  She used to be the chaplain of the sixth floor. One day I was visiting the patients on the sixth floor. I went into one patient in the back right of the north wing. The patient ended up yelling at me and kicking me out of his room.  I footnote here that that is very unusual in my time here at Calvary and in fact this is the only time that happened to me.  Nevertheless, I retreated out to the hall. And Sister Mary Ann was waiting there. "That was hard, wasn't it?", she said. Then she added, "This is God's work. And that is a good thing, for it is God who is doing it." I interpret that to mean, that it is God doing our work here at the hospital through us.

Have you ever been to a resort and noticed that everyone you pass seems to be smiling and that each one takes a moment to give you a quick wave or a hello?  Doesn't that make you feel great?  Isn't that an up? So Jesus says, "Do you greet your brothers only" or "If you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?"  But when we greet all, as Nurse Vivian on the third floor reminds me to do, we greet all, brothers and non-brothers. But when we greet all, then all become our brothers.  

When I started as a lawyer at a big firm, the firm had different departments representing different fields of law, and I was placed in the Litigation Department, because, they explained, it better fit my personality. I thought, "Great. I would be able to tell my opponents what-for." But I started by being nice, and I found that I did so well being nice that I never gave my opponent what-for. But what about when the case was over?  Well, when I won, I did not have to be mean because I had won.  And when I lost, I could not be mean, because I had lost. An abiding truth about the Gospels of Jesus, is that when we try to follow them, they work.

June 10, 2009. Homily, June 13, 2009.

Matthew 5:33-37.

Jesus said to His disciples: "You have heard that it was said to  your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven for it is God's throne; not by the earth, for it is his footstool; not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything else is from the evil one."

The Gospel of the Lord.

The law permitted an oath to verify one's veracity.  Jesus condemned the practice of placing demands on God to act as a witness on one's behalf and tells his followers plainly they must always speak the truth, not merely when under oath. You may not ask God to act as your witness, nor swear by Heaven above (God's dwelling place) or by the earth (God's footstool) or by Jerusalem (the City of the great king, David) , or by your own head. Notice the gradations of the oath. IF one is not bothered by the loss of one's own head, or by Jerusalem, or by the earth, or by Heaven, or even by God Himself, then what good is your oath? The point is that if one needs an oath to tell the truth, then that one is not trustworthy. A really trustworthy person is one who tells the truth in every act he does and in every word he says. When I was a prosecutor, I would never state my personal belief in what I was saying: 1) because as a Government attorney, one was not permitted to assert one's personal belief and 2) because it was stronger to say what one was permitted to say, which is not that "It is my belief that such and such is fact" but, instead, that "It was the Government's position that such and such is fact." It is more powerful to live the truth and to have your words state the truth then it is to swear that such and such is the truth.  And this is the point of today's Gospel. Live the truth and state the truth then your words will be believed because they are true not because you swear that they are true but because your own life attests to their truth.

In our time, we have had politicians step forward to receive communion or to obtain visits with the Pope when their public acts are in opposition to the teaching of the Church. In essence those acts are intended to bypass the teaching of  Church and to demonstrate that the acts of those politicians are favored by God. In this Gospel that sort of calling upon God to witness is condemned by Jesus. 

The letter of the law is death while the spirit of the law is life.

In sum, rather than abolish the law, Jesus calls  for a higher form of law and behavior [than the Ten Commandments], one that goes far beyond external observance to an internal conversion so that the rationale and motivation behind the law will become the guiding force behind all our actions and our very way of life.

June 8, 2009. Homily, June 9, 2009.

Matthew 5:13-16

[follows the Sermon on the Mount] Jesus said to His disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it give light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Salt:  preservative of food (salt draws moisture out; decomposition cannot occur without moisture), curative of wounds (an antiseptic that kills bacteria; rubbing salt in a wound prevents infection), enhancer of food (brings out flavor for food otherwise bland).

City set on a mountain:  for defensive purposes and so that all (travelers and traders) may be drawn to it.

Light a lamp:  set on a shelf so that it may illuminate the house.  Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father (as Christians we should be lights leading people to God and away from evil).

June 1, 2009. Homily, June 2, 2009.

Mark 12:13-17.

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's stature but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"

Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

"Hypocrisy" is feigning to be what one is not.

The Pharisees were opposed to the tax; the Herodians [followers of Herod] were in favor of the tax. If Jesus answered to pay the tax, the Jews would be outrage. If Jesus answer not to pay the tax, he would be reported to the Romans as a revolutionary. What could Jesus say.

Jesus asked for a denarius. the coinage was the property of the Emperor. So, to have a denarius, indicated that you were on the side of the emperor.  Jesus asked, "Whose image and inscription is this?" "Caesar's". So, Render to Caesar what is Caesar's. And further, implied, in whose image are we made?  In the image of God.  So the answer continues, and "[Repay] to God what belongs to God." We belong to God.

The Shema: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole strength and mind and heart and soul. And the second is like it: You shall love  your neighbor as yourself.