August 30, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

Luke 6: 12-19.

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve whom he also named Apostles: Simon whom he named Peter and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew [Nathaniel], Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be cured of their diseases, and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

The Gospel of the Lord.

"Jesus departed to the mountain to pray." A mountain is good place to pray. We live here in a place named for a mountain, "Calvary", the mountain on which Jesus dies, in order for Him to conquer death and rise again. This "Calvary" is a good place to pray.

An "apostle" is one sent forth on a mission, one sent forth to preach the Gospel.

At the end of Mass, the priest or deacon says, "The mass is ended. Go in peace." Originally, the dismissal was in Latin, "Ite, Missa est." which means "Ite" or "Go", "missa est" means "the message has been completed" or "Go and preach the completed message which you have heard."

August 30, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, September 2, 2011.

AUgust 30, 2011. Homily, Saturday, September 2, 2011.

Luke 6: 1-5

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."

The Gospel of the Lord.

His disciples were picking the heads of grain [reaping/harvesting], rubbing them in their hands [threshing; removing the chaff from the grain {winnowing}], and eating them [preparing food]. reaping [harvesting], gleaning [to collect the leavings from a field], winnowing [to blow away the chaff], threshing [rubbing the grain in one's hands, to crush the wheat head thus separating the grain from the chaff/husks]

Under the Old Testament, one could go through one's neighbor's fields and take grain by hand but could not use a sickle, but this was the sabbath where no work was permitted.

The Pharisees were spying on Jesus and the disciples and made this charge. Jesus did not deny it; instead he defended it; in the end by saying that He, Son of Man, was Lord of the sabbath. And 1 Samuel 21, David received showbread from the high priest of the Temple, Ahimelech the priest of Nob.

Jesus also restored to the people the true meaning of the Sabbath. Look at verse 27. “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” In the clutter of detailed rules derived by the Pharisees, the original purpose and meaning of the Sabbath had been lost. With this one word, Jesus restored to them God’s purpose for the Sabbath (Gen 2:3; Ex 20:8-11). God did not give the Sabbath to burden man. God gave the Sabbath to bless man. The Sabbath is a gift from God, a day of rest to restore his body, mind and spirit after a week of hard work. It was not given to oppress man, but to edify and heal and encourage man. The Sabbath was made for man.

August 26, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

Lk 4:31-37

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a Town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Today's Readings

St. Paul, in this reading from his First Letter to the Thessalonians, encourages us not to sleep like the rest of the world. Sleeping means not trying. He also says that we are not of in darkness, for we are children of light. Darkness makes a person want to sleep. Darkness is hopelessness. Hopelessness makes us want to stop trying. Light is hope. We are children of hope.

What kind of hope? Not a false hope. St. Paul has just warned us that “when people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ then sudden disaster comes upon them.” This is the false hope on which the world hangs its dreams. False hope is more assumption than hope. It starts innocently enough, we wake up in the morning and assume that the floor is still there. We breathe air and just assume that there is oxygen in it. We go to work, and we assume that we will get paid. We get in an elevator and assume that we will not plummet to our deaths. We must do all this assuming, because the alternative is being paranoid to the point of insanity.

But then we extend these assumptions to other matters. We put money away in a retirement account and assume that it will still be there in thirty years. We live in America, so we assume that no army will ever invade our home. We go to the grocery store and assume that there will be food available for a price we can pay. We make these assumptions, yet how many counter-examples throughout the world should give us pause! Our safety and security seems so rock-solid, but it is really a fragile soap bubble in time destined to eventually pop.

When someone puts their hope in this world, they are in darkness. They think that they are awake; they are working so hard; they are exhausted every day, but they are really just dreaming; they are asleep. If you put in an eight hour shift in your dreams one night, no one will actually pay you no matter how tired you are. If you work hard for a worldly hope, even if you do not live through war or famine, the world will fail to actually pay you.

We are children of the light. Our hope is founded in reality, and it will not disappoint. Now if only we could work as hard for our real salvation as the world does for it ephemeral rewards.

There were three parts to Israel. In the South, Judea with David's city Jerusalem. In the middle Samaria with Jericho. And in the North, Galilee.

In the Genesis story God rested on the sabbath, but the sabbath was the day when Jesus really used to get busy. He was frequently accused of breaking the sabbath, and even when he was dead he descended on Holy Saturday into the underworld, the Apostles’ Creed says, and liberated all who had languished there since the time of Adam. I found a passage in St Ambrose (c. 333 – 397) that tries to make sense of all this sabbath activity. He wrote, “[Luke] describes the works of divine healing begun on the sabbath day, to show from the outset that the new creation began where the old creation ceased.”

Ambrose also noted that Jesus healed a man (today’s reading) and a woman (tomorrow’s). Just as at the beginning God “created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27; 5:2), Jesus now heals both. “The Lord came to heal both sexes,” he wrote.

Jesus spoke with authority, Luke says. ‘Authority’ is one of those words that can have opposite meanings, depending on their use. Speaking or acting ‘with authority’ can simply mean you have the official piece of paper, you are authorised by someone else. In the time of Jesus, rabbis were forever quoting other rabbis, or quoting texts. Yet the word ‘authority’ comes from the Latin ‘auctor’ (source), from which the word ‘author’ is also derived. People speaking with authority in this sense are speaking from themselves; they are the authors of what they are saying. Jesus “spoke with authority,” that is, he spoke from himself, from his Self. His words came from somewhere (they were not quotations). For that very reason they were able to go somewhere: they were able to cast out demons, freeing people from their torments.

By acting as he did, Ambrose wrote, “Jesus showed us that the Son of God is not under the law but above the law.” It might have been better if he had said Jesus was one with the law, in the sense that he was one with the mind of the law-giver, God. In him the law was being fulfilled, not set aside (Mt 5:18). A law is not necessarily being fulfilled when it is interpreted into thousands of details; it is being fulfilled when its purpose is being realised. The law was being fulfilled in Jesus, despite his apparent breaches of it, in ways that it was never fulfilled in the Pharisees, despite their apparent devotion to it.

August 25, 2011. Homily, Saturday, August 27, 2011.

Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one -- to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately, the one who had received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the one who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more. ' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.' Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.' Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant, and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground, Here it is back.' His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone that has, more will be given and he will grow rich; and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"

The Gospel of the Lord.

5 talents was 30,000 denarii with a denarius equal to a laborer's wages for a day.

In Luke's version of the story, the servants received pounds not talents and were rewarded with control over the same number (10 and 5) of cities with the servant who received but one unit suffering the same fate.

St, Monica, patroness of alcoholics, of married women, and of mothers and mother of St. Augustine, wife of Patricus, a pagan, convert with his mother and Monica's mother-in-law. August tine told his mother he was seeing friends off at the docks, but instead boarded a ship to Rome to take a course in rhetoric [argumentation]. Monica followed himto Rome but he had left for Milan where Monica followed him again. She told Augustine that I fast on Saturday her in Rome but they do not fast in Milan. Augustine answered, "When in Rome I fast but as they do not fast in Milan neither do I: "When in Rome do as the Romans do."

August 17, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, August 23, 2011.

Matthew 23:23-26.

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."

The Gospel of the Lord.

This Gospel is about hypocrites. Of course what do we know about hypocrites.

hypocrite: [Webster] one who acts a false part or makes false pretensions. In the context of this Gospel, one whose outside appearance is at variance with his inner being.

mint and dill and cummin are all spices, so to tithe a spice is to allot a grain to God; it is to tithe the inconsequential while ignoring the consequential - the consequential are judgment and mercy and fidelity.

strain the gnat but swallow the camel.

A Christian knows that “There but for the grace of God go I” is not just a catchphrase but profound truth, and a Christian always admits that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness. Do not be afraid to admit you have done wrong; do not defend your sins; do not be satisfied with who you are: allow God to forgive you; allow God to make you perfect.

1) The steps of St. Paul with the wife of the president of the major utility in Uruguay, a tertiary Franciscan, who knew Mother Teresa, who had been on a retreat with her and knew her for a fascinating conversationalist and a master gossip.

2) Carl Wotyla on the way to his first conclave in the Sistine Chapel was carrying Mao's Little Red Book. He was called on it by a fellow cardinal. Cardinal Wotyla answered, "My conscience is clear."

August 10, 2011; Homily, Tuesday, August 16, 2011.

Matthew 19:23-30

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the next age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on the twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Our faith is saturated with paradoxes, and they are never resolved (as problems are), or answered (as questions are). They remain there; they never go away. “The last shall be first and the first last,” said Jesus (Mt 19:30). * * * * Today’s gospel reading, you might say, is about ‘rich poverty’.

Father Kennedy and being there for me when needed. Like a father.

You love your children more than you love your parents.

August 10, 2011; Homily, Saturday, August 13, 2011.

Matthew 19:13-15.

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

The Gospel of the Lord.

If today you hear my voice, harden not your hearts.

Would you like to hear the voice of God? This is the voice of Jesus Christ.

I will remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.

Come to me all you that labor and are heavy burdened. Take my yoke upon you and learn, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and my yoke is easy and my burden light.

August 3, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14,

The Disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this receives me.

[But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe into the world because of 'offenses' for it must need be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed' rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.]

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. [For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost.] What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."

The Gospel of the Lord.

It is interesting what is left out of the Gospel reading. The quotations are the Word of Jesus Christ and yet some of that Word is omitted:

"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this receives me.

[But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe into the world because of 'offenses' for it must need be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed' rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.]

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. [For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost.]

Pope John Paul II said, "There is no place in the clergy for one who has abused a child in his care." And yet the Bishops' Council meeting in Texas considered whether the words of John Paul II meant one strike and you are out, two strikes and you are out or three or more strikes and you are out.

I remember seeing Archbishop Dolan meeting some elderly nuns, and him opening his arms, this great bear of a man, and enfolding them in his embrace and his love. How much I loved him, and love him now thinking about it, for that demonstration, for that innocent public witness, of the love of the Church.

[David's great] Psalm 139 [on the everlasting presence and power of God].

in four parts: You [the Lord] know me (vv. 1-6), You are with me (vv. 7-12), You created me (vv. 13-18 [13, You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. {KJ 14, I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works}; my very self you knew; 15, my bones were not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. 16, Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped before one came to be.), You are with me (vv. 19-24).

August 1, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, August 2, 2011.

Matthew 14: 22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.

The Gospel of the Lord.

"the fourth watch": the last watch of the four night watches, the watch just before dawn.

Peter "cried out", and when did Jesus stretch out his hand and catch him? "immediately".

And when we cry out, when will Jesus reach to save us, stretch out his hand and catch us? "immediately".

"Take courage, it is I." The words "It is I" can also be interpreted as "I am", the name of God.

The Church as the bark [barque] [boat] of Peter.