October 31, 2011. Homily vigil for Sunday, November 6, 2011.

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom. Come out to meet him!" Then all

Those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' but he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Parable

1. Matthew 25:1-13

2. The “virgins” represent those in the kingdom, or the church

3. The coming of the bridegroom represents the Second Coming of Christ

4. The “lamps” represent the faith of Christians

5. The “extra oil” symbolizes good works that accompany our faith

6. Jesus proclaims this parable to teach us the urgent need to always be prepared for His Second Coming.

Conclusion: there will come a time when Christians no longer have time to repent. Up to that time, if not prepared, one can put one's affairs in order. But at that time, if you are still not prepared, the door will be locked against you. What is that time - death or the end of the world. At death, if one complies with the First Fridays, God has promised a priest at your death (one of the twelve promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - St. Margaret Mary Alcoque). But the end of time will come with no warning and no opportunity to prepare further. The door will be locked. That is a reason to fear the Lord.

Now, it's often said that the God of fear is the Old Testament God, and the New Testament God is the God of love, isn't it?

For example, it's clear from reading the Old Testament that fear of the Lord is closely bound up with obedience to the Lord. We saw that in the first verse of our Psalm 112, Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. Fearing the Lord and obeying the Lord are often used almost interchangeably.

In the New Testament, specifically, three times in John chapters 14 and 15 Jesus says if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. So the New Testament motivation for obedience is love, just as the Old Testament motivation was fear. It's neat, isn't it?

Is that it? No. C.S. Lewis in his Tales of Narnia, has the Christ-figure Aslan be a lion. To the question, "Is he tame?", C.S.Lewis answers, "Of course not. He is a lion. But he is good." God is more than loving, he is also fearsome. He is fearsome for our own good, he is fearsome so that we might obey his laws. And God's laws are given to us for our own good. And that is the point of the parable of the ten bridesmaids. The bridesmaids will be there to guide us at the final day. That is the purpose of their lamps but if their lamps have no oil they cannot guide us and if the final day comes when they are unprepared, the gates to the kingdom will be locked against us.

October 31, 2011. Homily Saturday, November 5, 2011.

Luke 16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, "You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows our hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God."

The Gospel of the Lord.

What is the enemy of generosity? It is greed, the excessive desire for personal security. True generosity does not impoverish the giver, but enriches him a hundredfold! Generosity expands the soul; greed contracts it.

God is generous and superabundant in lavishing his gifts upon us. We can never outgive God in what he has already given to us. Do you know the joy and freedom of generosity and liberality in giving to others what God has so richly given to you?

Jesus concludes his parable with a lesson on what controls or rules our lives. Who is the master (or ruler) in charge of your life? Our "master" is that which governs our thought-life, shapes our ideals, controls the desires of the heart and the values we choose to live by. We can be ruled by many different things -- the love of money or possessions, the power of position, the glamor of wealth and prestige, the driving force of unruly passions and addictions. Ultimately the choice boils down to two: God and "mammon". What is mammon? "Mammon" stands for "material wealth or possessions" or whatever tends to "control our appetites and desires". There is one Master alone who has the power to set us free from the slavery of sin and addiction. That Master is the Lord Jesus Christ.

God loves generosity and he gives liberally to those who share his gifts with others. The Pharisees, however, had no room in their hearts for God. The gospel says they were lovers of money. Love of money and wealth crowd out love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by God's love or the heart will be possessed by the love of something else.

October 30, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

All Saints' Day

Mt. 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the Crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit [: those who realize their utter need of God and the poverty of life without him], for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are they who mourn [: those who grieve over the state of the world, their sins, and the sins of others], for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek [and lowly: those who realize their place before God and don't try to impose their will on him. The land they are promised is the Kingdom of heaven.], for they will inherit the land.

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness [: those who yearn for God's way of doing things to become the norm of human conduct and act accordingly.], for they will be satisfied.

"Blessed are the merciful [: those who forgive as God forgives and who do not hold grudges or seek revenge.] , for they will be shown mercy.

"Blessed are the clean of heart [: those who act from the purest motives of love for God alone and single-heartedly seek to do his will.] , for they will see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers [: those who are reconciled with God, themselves, and others and help others to enjoy the same peace.], for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. [Blessed are the persecuted for the sake of Jesus: those who suffer or are demeaned for their beliefs and observance of God's laws. Their reward will be great in heaven.]

"Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven."

The Gospel of the Lord.

The bracketed material are emendations by Father Edward Dowling, S.J.

There are over eighty Beatitudes in the Old Testament.

Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God is not for the rich and blissful but for the sorrowing and poor in spirit. What the world admires, God despises. God judges by different standards and Jesus here makes clear what those standards are.

Compare with Luke 6:20-49.

October 18, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, October 25, 2011.

Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches."

Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened."

The Gospel of the Lord.

At the time of Jesus, people expected that the messianic kingdom would be established with great fanfare and triumph. There would be a lot to see and hear.

The ego always looks for a big deal: this is its trademark. When you hear intense people talking big, with phrases like “I strongly believe,” or “I'm deeply convinced,” you can be pretty sure that they mean just the opposite. The strength of the conviction shows the strength of the doubt.

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away".

Percy Byshe Shelly

October 18, 2011. Homily, Saturday, October 22, 2011.

Luke 13: 1-9.

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they ere greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you that if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!"

And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in this orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, "For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" He said to him in reply, "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it my bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down."

The Gospel of the Lord.

This is about untimely death. My class-mate Don Pillsbury on our 50th anniversary class masthead even though he is deceased six months. We know his death was untimely because he was in my college class.

The genesis of these stories in the first part of this Gospel seems to be that Pilate wanted to build an aqueduct to bolster Jerusalem's inadequate water supply and to finance the project from monies taken from the Temple treasury. The Jews gathered to demonstrate and to protest; Pilate's soldiers mingled with the protestors. When the protestors grew unruly, the soldiers sought to put down the unruliness; violence ensued, and some of the protestors were killed and more injured.

Pilate pressed ahead with his aqueduct; one of the towers collapsed and eighteen workers were killed.

To become a deacon one goes through formation. As part of formation, each of the persons studying to be a deacon is to write an autobiography explaining the genesis of his desire to become a deacon. My submission started with the words of the parable from this Gospel:

There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in this orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, "For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" He said to him in reply, "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it my bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down."

I then continued. I am that fig tree. And continued, that I had been exposed to the Church from my grandmother, my mother, my uncle the priest and my aunt, the nun. Each had pressed me to follow in the way but I had refused. I kept refusing until finally I decided that the Church needed me, I would accept, and then let the administration of the Church reject me. But God interfered to protect me and to encourage me through the 58 years before I applied, my acceptance, the four years of formation, the class work, the administration of the Diaconate, and on to my ordination. I am that fig tree, the ground around me cultivated, fertilized, until I bore fruit to follow in the way of the Lord. I am that fig tree.

Posted by Daniel Murphy at 4:09 PM

October 12, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Feast of St. Luke

Luke 10:1-9

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and village he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him, but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserve payment. Do not move from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Gospel excerpt today (Luke 10:1-9), Jesus sending out the seventy-two is found only in Luke’s Gospel. We have a problem with this particular text because about half the manuscripts say Jesus sent out seventy and the other half say Jesus sent out seventy-two. Which is it? What symbolism did Luke have in mind? If we take it to be seventy we could see it reflecting the seventy nations in Gen 10, thus symbolizing all the nations of the world. If we take it be seventy-two we could see it reflecting the seventy-two nations in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of Gen 10. Thus whether we take it be seventy or seventy-two, it is another indication, among many others in the Gospel, of Luke’s Gospel being directed in a special way to the Gentiles. Luke is saying that it was not the Church which began the mission to the Gentiles, the foundation for this mission was laid in the very ministry of Jesus himself. We are all privileged to have been called by the Lord to participate in this ministry either in the ordained ministerial priesthood or the priesthood of the faithful.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: This is the Time of fulfillment, The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Mark 1:14-15.

Mark and Luke accompanied Paul, so that Paul takes this Gospel fragment from his experience with Paul, on how Paul went forth and preached the good news of Jesus.

Luke is The Dear and Glorious Physician from Taylor Caldwell. Luke was close to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and from Mary Luke got the Annunciation of Mary by the Angel Gabriel (the strength of God), the visitation, the Birth of the Lord, in fact the entirety of the Joyful Mysteries. Luke also painted a picture of Mary. We have if there in our Church, the Signpost. Luke is the patron saint of Artists. The symbol of Luke is the Ox.

October 6, 2011, Homily, Tuesday, October 11, 2011.

Luke 11: 37-41

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, "Oh, you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms and behold, everything will be clean for you."

The Gospel of the Lord.

As my grandmother got to be about my age now, and I was 13 and 14, I would stay at her house while my grandfather was away on trips. Sadie Johnson was my grandmother's cook and what a great cook Sadie was. When we would sit down for dinner, my grandmother would ask, "Dan, have you washed your hands?" And too often I would reply, "No, Grandma." And she would say, "Dan, a gentleman always washes before dining." Some things stay with you, and that has stayed with me. At Calvary, it helps remind me to cleanse my hands before I enter a patient's room and after I leave, for infection in a hospital is most commonly spread through one's hands.

The dietary and cleansing routines set forth in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, are health advisories, intended for the prevention of diseases. But here "The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal." The Pharisee did not observe Jesus washing. But the Pharisee did not ask, as my grandmother would ask me, whether Jesus had cleansed himself; instead whether Jesus had cleansed himself so that the Pharisee could observe him doing so. And since Jesus had not acted so as to be observed, the Pharisee was wandering into the error our parents caution us against, "Judge not lest ye be judged." And Jesus was judging the Pharisee for what Jesus as God can observe, the Pharisee's inner self. That inner self is what Jesus has come to heal, it is our unloving and ungenerous thoughts, no matter what our appearance may be to those looking at our surface.

O wad some Power the giftie gie us,

To see oursels as ithers see us!

Oft-quoted lines from Robbie Burns. If you are not familiar with Scottish dialect: he prays that some Power would give us the gift to see ourselves from the outside. What do you think? – Would it be a good thing?

“Give for alms those things that are within.” What does this mean?

That inner source where forgiveness arises must be a pure source, with no hidden poison in it. Cyril of Alexandria wrote, “Christ shows that those who sincerely serve God must be pure and clean…from what is hidden inside the mind.” If that source is pure, then we will not be secretly injecting poison into all our thoughts and actions. Then, as Jesus said, “everything will be clean for you.”

October 5, 2011. Homily, Saturday, October 8, 2011.

Lk 11:27-28

While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’

The human being is both flesh and spirit. When the woman in today's Gospel called out to Jesus "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you", she was emphasizing the physical aspect of the human being. The word "Hebrew" as in "the Hebrew people" is derived from the Hebrew word "hebiru" meaning "wind" or "spirit". Jesus in responding to His Hebrew audience "Blessed rather are the those who hear the word of God and obey it", emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the human being. Jesus came to heal the sinful, nourish the spirit, and show the way to eternal life. His Passion was His crucifixion, death and resurrection. He stayed on earth after His Resurrection for forty days and then ascended into Heaven. His Ascension made room for the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit who came and abides with us to help us understand that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus shows us the way to eternal life.

Meister Eckhart said, "The whole of Christendom pays our Lady great honour and respect because she is the bodily mother of Christ, and that is right and proper…. And if Christendom pays her such honour, as indeed is fitting, nevertheless Christendom should pay even greater honour and glory to that person who hears God's word and keeps it…. All that honour, and immeasurably more, is accorded to that person who hears God's word and keeps it…. The Father of heaven gives you His eternal Word, and in that same Word He gives you at once His own life, His own being and His Godhead: for the Father and the Word are two Persons but one life and one being undivided…. In this light…the Father knows no difference between you and Him and no precedence, any more or any less than between Him and His Word. For the Father and yourself and all things and the Word itself are one in this light.”