February 28, 2010. Homily March 2, 2010.

Matthew 23:1-12.

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Jesus was annoyed because the Pharisees in interpreting the Gospel for their fellow Jews and interpreting it without mercy.

In yesterday's Gospel, Luke 6:36-38, quotes Jesus, "Be merciful just as your Father is merciful." "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you in good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Popes have always signed their letters, "the servant of the servants of God."

phylacteries: little boxes containing four of the most sacred passages in the Old Testament - Exodus 13:1-10 about the first-born being consecrated to God; Exodus, 13:11-16 also about the first-born being dedicated to God; Deuteronomy, 6:4-9, the Shema, "Hear, O Israel, You shall love the Lord thy God with your whole heart soul, mind and strength"; Deuteronomy 11:13-21 "There shall be no false gods". Phylacteries were worn on their foreheads, the motivating reasons for all their actions, and on their wrists, that they might put into practice what God wanted.

the prayer shawl tassels were reminders of the law.

Literally, "Rabbi" means "great one".

An old priest to a class of young priests, "If you don't love people, for God's sake don't preach."

February 24, 2010. Homily February 27, 2010

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 and sisters 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.

This is part of the Sermon on the Mount. We have been reading from the Sermon on the Mount since the Gospel on Ash Wednesday. Two days ago, Thursday's Gospel ended with the words, "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets." We know it today as The Golden Rule.

Today's Gospel ends with the words, "So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." How can we do that. The Golden Rule is a start. But think how often we try the patience of our Heavenly Father; how often we seek forgiveness of the same sin we repeat, whether it be drinking or anger or spitefulness to one who has harmed us or failure to forgive or even wallowing in our unforgiveness. Remember when John Paul II visited and forgave the assassin who had tried to kill him. That assassin has now been freed.

If someone has wounded you or yours, is that person your enemy? Enmity grows by being reflected, and if you stopped reflecting it, in a while there would be less of it in the world. Usually we get into tangles of blaming and justifying and asking “who started it”; but all this is futile. The only way to stop it is to stop reflecting it. Gradually the tangle loosens and we are left with just ourselves, variously wounded and fearful. We are God's boisterous children. To know that is to know some kind of love.

February 21, 2010. Homily February 23, 2010

Matthew 6:7-15

Jesus said to His disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

Thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

The Gospel of the Lord.

When the disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray he gave them the Our Father, which is a model of brevity.

Has it ever struck you that in the Our Father, “the pattern of all Christian prayer,” there is no mention of Jesus, his life, death or resurrection, nor mention of any of the Christian mysteries? This absence indicates to me that it was his own prayer. In prayer he was seized by one single awareness: the Father; he was not thinking about himself. When we pray the Our Father we are not praying to him, but with him; we are praying his prayer. We are so close to him that we do not see him! We are (so to speak) inside his head looking out through his eyes and seeing, like him, only the Father and the world. We are praying in him. All Christian prayer and worship is “in Christ.”

When we pray the Our Father we are not outsiders and spectators, we are praying from within the whole Christ. We are looking out through the eyes of Christ. We are living from his mind and heart: “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 3:16); we are larger than ourselves.

Pope Benedict XVVI: Lectio divina constitutes a real spiritual journey marked out in stages.

(1) The lectio, which consists of reading and rereading a passage from Sacred Scripture and taking in the main elements. (2) The meditatio is a moment of interior reflection in which the soul turns to God and tries to understand what his word is saying to us today. (3) In the oratio we linger to talk with God directly. (4) Finally, the contemplatio helps us to keep our hearts attentive to the presence of Christ whose word is "a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet 1:19).

February 15, 2010. Homily, Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples, "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms giving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But, when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

The Gospel of the Lord.

There are three Gospels that consist solely of the words of Jesus Christ.

The Beatitudes: Jesus sat on a mountain and opened His mouth and His disciples came to Him. Blessed be the poor in spirit for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed be the merciful for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed be the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed be those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be fulfilled.

Blessed be those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

Blessed be the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Blessed be the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed be those persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you peace.

Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and humble at heart,

and my yoke is easy and my burden light.

And the above:

Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people might see them . . .

February 15, 2010. Homily, Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mark 8, 14-21

The Disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus explained to them, "Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod." They concluded amongst themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, "Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?" They answered him, "Twelve." "When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?" They answered him, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mardi Gra [Fat Tuesday].

Our God is a jealous god.

"Do you still not understand?" What does that mean? The homilies on this Gospel do not explain. Perhaps we can explain for ourselves.

Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, Beware of the leaven of Herod. Jesus is saying, Beware of dependency upon others than the Lord. Do you have eyes to see and not see, ears to hear and not hear? You have been traveling with Jesus and seen His acts, how He cares for His disciples and even for all who follow Him. Having seen His acts, believe in Him.

The "Twelve" is when Jesus fed the 5,000, the Israelites. The "Seven" is when Jesus fed the 4000, the Gentiles. Our help is in the hand of the Lord. Jesus is telling the disciples to depend on Him, who feeds both the Jews and the Gentiles, who in fact feeds the whole world who believes in Him.

Do you allow anxiety or fear to keep you from trusting in God's provision for your life? How easy it is to forget what God has already done for us and to doubt what he promises to do as well. Jesus warned his disciples to avoid the way of the Pharisees and of Herod who sought their own counsels rather than the will of God. As the apostles continued to worry about their lack of bread, Jesus reminded them of his miraculous provision of bread in the feeding of the four thousand. He then upbraided them for their lack of trust in God. Do you not yet understand? It's easy to get preoccupied with the problems and needs of the present moment and to forget the most important reality of all -- God's abiding presence with us and his abundant provision for our lives as well. Do you pray with joyful confidence, Father, give us this day our daily bread?

February 10, 2010. Homily, Saturday, February 13, 2010

13 February Mk 8:1-10

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

All four gospels include the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. Mark's Gospel has two versions of which this is the second. The first is at Mk. 6:34-44. John's gospel, fourth and last chronologically, includes it as one of the seven miracles in his Book of Signs (water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana, the curing at a distance of the son of the royal official, the curing on the sabbath of the man ill for 38 years at the pool at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, the feeding of the multitude with five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus walks on the sea, the curing of the man blind from birth, the raising of Lazarus from the dead). John's gospel does not include the breaking of the bread and the consecration of the wine at the Last Supper but does have Jesus give thanks for the bread before he feeds the multitude. Matthew 14:19 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Mark 6:17 two hundred denarii [a denarius was a day's wages]. Luke 10:12-17. John has the barley loaves. All agree to the deserted place, to the teaching of Jesus before the miracle, to the 5,000 men, to the 12 baskets of fragments, the synoptic gospels that he looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. And the synoptic gospels each have Jesus consecrating and distributing the bread and wine at the Last Supper.

February 8, 2010, Homily, February 9, 2010.

Mark 7: 1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God's commandments but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "how well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is gorban [meaning, dedicated to God]," you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Pharisees and the scribes are seeking to denigrate or criticize Jesus by criticizing His disciples. The details of the criticism are valid: One should clean one's hands before dining. But the overall intent of the criticism by the Pharisees is not valid, for in focusing on the acts of the disciples of Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes seek to ignore the words of Jesus. We do the same thing in critiquing the story of the creation of the world in Genesis. The point of Genesis is not the details of the seven days; the point of Genesis is that God created the universe and everything in it. The rest of Genesis is poetry. So, here the point of this Gospel is that our worship is in vain if our hearts are far from God. We must not merely honor God with our lips. We must place our hearts close to God. The disciples of Jesus are close to God. The Pharisees and scribes should recognize that the disciples of Jesus are close to God, as does Solomon in his prayer in the first reading, "Lord, there is no God like you. You keep your covenant of mercy with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart." That faithfulness is shown in giving God our heart. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

February 1, 2010. Homily, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

Luke 2:22-40.

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

[Nunc dimmitimus]

"Now, Master, you may let your servant go

in peace, according to your word,

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and glory for your people Israel."

The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted - and you yourself a sword will pierce - so that the thoughts of m any hearts will be revealed." There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after he marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Israel.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

According to the Mosaic law [Lv. 12, 2-8], the woman who gives birth to a boy is unable for forty days to touch anything sacred or to enter the temple by reason of her legal impurity. At the end of this period she is required to offer a year old lamb as a burnt offering and a turtledove or young pigeon as an expiation of sin. The woman who could not afford a lamb offered instead two turtledoves or two young pigeons as Mary does here.

"awaiting the consolation of Israel": Simeon here and later Anna speak about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem represent the hopes and expectations of faithful and devout Jews who at this time were looking forward to the restoration of God's rule in Israel. The birth of Jesus brings these hopes to fulfillment.

"and you yourself a sword will pierce": Mary herself will not be untouched by the reactions to the role of Jesus. Her blessedness as mother of the Lord will be challenged by her son who describes true blessedness as "hearing the word of God and observing it." [Lk. 11, 27-28 and 8, 20-21].

It took an old man, Simeon, and an old woman, Anna, to discern the new thing that was happening. They are examples of the clarity that can be found in old people. Every night of life, the Church's Night Prayer repeats Simeon's canticle. "Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace. Mine eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." It is deeply meaningful. Every day is like a short lifetime, and nightfall reminds us of approaching death. The end is therefore not to be dreaded as something we have always excluded from our consciousness. but welcomed as a fulfillment - much as the body welcomes the prospect of rest and sleep.

Now we have Simeon as an old man and Jesus as a babe and both contemplating life:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

And if I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.