Luke, 1:26-38:

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord.

In the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the devil in the form of a serpent and disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; she tempted Adam who also ate. Both were expelled from the Garden of Eden. We do Bible Studies in 6th Grade of CCD. I ask my class, "Is that fair?" Those who say "Yes" say God only gave them one rule, why is that so hard to obey. Those who say "No" say they should have received another chance. To which we answer, the second chance is what the whole rest of the Bible is about.
In this Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we have a stained glass window dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It is the first window on the right, my left, directly behind the Blessed Sacrament Chapel where the Host is kept. The center panel shows Mary Immaculate with the serpent crushed beneath her foot. Beneath is the heraldic shield of Pope Pius IX who governed the Church for 32 years, the second longest time after Peter. The panel to the left has the ship of the Church, Papal Infallibility. When the pope speaks ex cathedra, from his Chair he is infallible. He has only done that once, on the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1854, 100 years before the cornerstone for this Church was laid. Pope Pius IX also convened the first Vatican Council in 1869, broken up in 1870 when Garibaldi conquered the Papal States.

Gabriel: God's able-bodied one, or hero of God.

David was the ancestor of Joseph. David was also the ancestor of Mary.

Mary said "Yes" overturning the sin of Eve, who on the Devil's urging disobeyed God the Father and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - original sin.

There have been many iterations of Marian piety, and we need to stay close to the authentic tradition. St Ambrose gave it luminous expression in his comment on this passage. "Every soul who has believed both conceives and generates the Word of God and recognises his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in Christ."

Compare Mary's visit from the angel Gabriel with Zechariah's visit from the same angel Gabriel [My name is Gabriel. I stand before God.] Mary a humble young virgin in her home. Zechariah a priest of the Jewish faith in the Temple charged with responsibility for the holy of holies, the sanctuary, the Tabernacle. While Mary believes, Zechariah doubts and is struck dumb for his impertinence.

Prayer Service December 19, 2012

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."


How not to speak to an angel.


Two Ways to Respond to God's Promise

There is another thing that I think Luke wants us to see from the contrast between the announcements of Jesus' birth and John's birth. Luke wants Theophilus to see the power of God and the preeminence of Jesus, but he also wants him (and us) to see the right way and the wrong way to respond to God's promise of power. This contrast is unavoidable when we look at how Zechariah on the one hand and Mary on the other hand respond to Gabriel's promise that God is going to give them a child and make the child great. Luke clearly wants Theophilus to follow Mary's example, not Zechariah's. Let's read both responses. Zechariah says to Gabriel,

"How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time."
Zechariah did not believe Gabriel's promise. He was in a spot almost just like Abraham but did not respond like Abraham, of whom Paul said in Romans 4:19, "He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about 100 years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God." Zechariah did waver in unbelief. And I think Luke intends for us to contrast this response to Mary's faith, because Zechariah's wife (in verse 45) commends Mary in a way that sounds like a criticism of her husband's unbelief. She says, "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

How did Mary's faith express itself? When the angel was finished predicting the miraculous birth of Jesus, Mary said in verse 34, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" Note the contrast: Zechariah says, How can I know this?—Mary says, How can this be? Zechariah asks for more evidence; Mary asks for an explanation. Zechariah says he can't be sure; Mary says she can't understand. Mary receives at least a partial explanation (which we will speak more of next time), but Zechariah receives a rebuke and is made dumb by the angel. Luke's point, therefore, to Theophilus is: be like Mary when you hear about Jesus, don't be like Zechariah.

12/18/12. Homily, Saturday, December 22, 2012

22 December
Lk 1:46-56

Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ 
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.



The magnificat and nunc dimmitis and the 23rd psalm are to be memorized for the comfort they give.



Mary’s Magnificat has been called the most revolutionary document in the world. Notice, however, that she did not say, “Let’s bring down the powerful…” but “God has brought down the powerful….” She is already celebrating the topsy-turvy logic of the Gospel.

She is an image of the new community, the Church. That is a community where the logic of the Gospel is intended to hold sway: the first is the last, the weak is the strong, the greatest is the least, the poorest is the richest, the lowest is the highest.... But when we look at the Church – at ourselves – sadly, we see that we live mostly by straightforward logic: power and privilege, palaces, badges and titles of honour.... And if I wear such a badge or carry the title of Christian, it doesn't guarantee that it stands for anything in the reality of my life.

Mary, the greatest revolutionary figure, still has many revolutions to accomplish.

December 17, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was h is intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophets:
        Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, 
       and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord.

"Jesus" means "God saves."


 Immanuel literally means "God is with us" - cf. Mt 1:23
      2. This name describes the Messiah's NATURE; i.e., that He is
         Deity!
         a. Other passages expound upon this aspect of Christ's nature
            1) He is "Mighty God, Everlasting Father" - Isa 9:6
            2) He is "God", possessing the "glory of God"; the Great
               "I AM", who shared in the glory of the Father prior to
               His incarnation - cf. Jn 1:1-3,14; 8:56-59; 17:5 (cf.
               Isa 42:8)
            3) Declared to be "the Son of God with power" by virtue of
               His resurrection - Ro 1:3-4
            4) He was "equal with God" who willingly humbled Himself
               - cf. Php 2:5-11
            5) In Him "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"
               - Col 2:9
         b. Human minds, finite and feeble, wrestle with this great
            mystery, but Jesus was "God manifested in the flesh"!
            - 1Ti 3:16

CONCLUSION

1. Would you have a strong foundation for your faith and hope?
   a. Then keep in constant view your Savior's name "IMMANUEL" ("God
      with us")
   b. For having become flesh, God understands our human plight - cf.
      He 2:17-18

December 10, 2012. Homily, December 11, 2012

Matthew 18: 10, 11

"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.] 

Matthew 18: 12-14
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.


How valuable are we to the Lord. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Lk 21:18. (An assurance of the most special providence over all Christ's disciples.)Nothing is more astonishing than the care and concern of God for His followers.
God the Father does not want to lose any one of us, even any part of us, so that He [and His guardian angels, the angels in heaven] watches over us and will bring us with Him to heaven to be with Him to the end of time.

Christ will lead us through sufferings, to glory with Him.

Everything that is ordered is a creation of God.

"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.

December 7, 2012. Homily, Immaculate Conception.

Luke, 1:26-38:

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was born without original sin, thus preparing her to be the Mother of God.

Inn the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the devil in the form of a serpent and disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; she tempted Adam who also ate. Both were expelled from the Garden of Eden. We do Bible Studies in 6th Grade of CCD. I ask my class, "Is that fair?" Those who say "Yes" say God only gave them one rule, why is that so hard to obey. Those who say "No" say they should have received another chance. To which we answer, the second chance is what the whole rest of the Bible is about.
In this Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we have a stained glass window dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It is the first window on the right, my left, directly behind the Blessed Sacrament Chapel where the Host is kept. The center panel shows Mary Immaculate with the serpent crushed beneath her foot. Beneath is the heraldic shield of Pope Pius IX who governed the Church for 32 years, the second longest time after Peter. The panel to the left has the ship of the Church, Papal Infallibility. When the pope speaks ex cathedra, from his Chair he is infallible. He has only done that once, on the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1854, 100 years before the cornerstone for this Church was laid. Pope Pius IX also convened the first Vatican Council in 1869, broken up in 1870 when Garibaldi conquered the Papal States.

Gabriel: God's able-bodied one, or hero of God ,strong one of God.

David was the ancestor of Joseph. David was also the ancestor of Mary.

Mary said "Yes" overturning the sin of Eve, who on the Devil's urging disobeyed God the Father and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - original sin.

There have been many aberrations of Marian piety, and we need to stay close to the authentic tradition. St Ambrose gave it luminous expression in his comment on this passage. "Every soul who has believed both conceives and generates the Word of God and recognises his works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you to magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one to exult in Christ."

Compare Mary's visit from the angel Gabriel with Zechariah's visit from the same angel Gabriel [My name is Gabriel. I stand before God.] Mary a humble young virgin in her home. Zechariah a priest of the Jewish faith in the Temple charged with responsibility for the holy of holies, the sanctuary, the Tabernacle. While Mary believes, Zechariah doubts and is struck dumb for his impertinence.

December 4, 2012. Homily December 5, 2012

Matthew 15:29-37, Mk. 6:34-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-13

The healing of many people.
At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute and many others. They placed them at his feet and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. 
The Feeding of the Four Thousand.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry for fear that they may collapse on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish." He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied.  They picked up the fragments left over -- seven baskets full. [Those who ate were about five thousand men not counting women and children.]
The Gospel of the Lord.

The only miracle that appears in all four gospels, Twice in Mark and twice in Matthew and once in John and once in Luke.


No one who met Jesus was left untouched.  They were either attracted by his love and miraculous power or they were repelled by his claim to divinity.  Jesus' miracles demonstrated the power of God and the magnitude of his mercy. Should we be surprised to see Jesus making what seemed to be impossible demands upon his disciples?  When the disciples were confronted by Jesus with the task of feeding four thousand people many miles away from any source of food, they exclaimed: Where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? The Israelites were confronted with the same dilemma when they fled Egypt and found themselves in a barren wilderness. Like the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, Jesus, himself provides bread in abundance for the hungry crowd who came out into the desert to seek him. The gospel records that all were satisfied and they took up what was leftover.  Are you satisfied with God's provision for you?

In the multiplication of the loaves and fishes we see a sign and a symbol of what God always does.  God knows our needs and he cares. When God gives, he gives in abundance.  The gospel account records that the leftovers from the miraculous meal was more than seven times the amount they began with.  Seven is a symbol of completion and wholeness. When God gives, he gives until we are satisfied. When God works for his people he gives abundantly -- more than we could deserve and more than we need. He nourishes us with his life-giving word and with the bread of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven God will feast us at his banquet table. Do you hunger for God and his kingdom?

Lord, you alone can satisfy the longing and hunger in our hearts.  May I thirst for your kingdom and find joy in your presence. Give me the true bread of heaven and nourish me with your life-giving word." 

December 3, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Luke 10:21-24

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have kept these things hidden from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Jesus is exultant on the successful return of the seventy who had been sent out two by two as missionaries. They were sent out as emissaries of the Lord, to witness to the Lord, to cure the sick, to be worthy of their role, and to preach what John the Baptist had preached - repent and repentance. Later, after the Passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, they will preach His way and anchor their preaching with the fact, that He had died for our sins and then rose again and ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father as mediator for us.


I am reminded of my own ordination as deacon when Cardinal Egan sent me and the other ordinandi, my class-mates, out with the words, "Read the Gospel, believe what you read, preach what you believe, and practice what you preach."

And the instruction of St. Francis Assisi on how to preach. Preach the Gospel. Use words only if necessary.

November 21, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Luke 21:5-11.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, "All that you see here -- the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky."
The Gospel of the Lord.

This is the last week of the Liturgical Year. In this last week we contemplate the end of things. This Gospel has Jesus teaching on the destruction of the Temple. There was but one Temple for the Jews. The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. It has never been rebuilt. To destroy the Temple was to destroy the identity of the Jewish people.
Father Dowling teaches, "To the ancient Jewish mind, time was divided into two ages, the present age and the age to come. They regarded the present age as so evil and corrupt due to human sinfulness and intransigence that it was beyond the pale of human rectification or divine redemption. God's only option, they concluded, was to destroy the present age and to start all over from scratch. The age to come they pictured as an idyllic time in which God's rule would reign supreme and Jewish nationalism would finally triumph. The transition between the two ages, however, would involve a frightful period called the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord would entail unimaginable personal suffering throughout the world and widespread destruction of nature and property on an epic scale. It would mark the death throes of the present age and the labor pangs of the age to come."


The reading is from the the Book of the Prophet Daniel where Daniel interprets the dream of Nebuchadnezzar who dreamt the collapse of a mighty statute made of precious metals, with the head of gold, the chests and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron, the feet of iron and tile. The statute was struck by a mighty stone, the statute crumbled, and the stone expanded to become a mountain and then to fill the earth. The interpretation was that the gold, silver, bronze parts of the statute represented kingdoms to follow Nebuchadezzar until God would set up a kingdom that would last forever.

We are reminded of the words of Percy Bysshe Shelley:


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".

November 21, 2012. Homily, Saturday, November 24, 2012

Luke 29:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally, the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her."  Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Some of the scribes said in reply, "Teacher, you have answered well." And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
The Gospel of the Lord.



Then the Sadducees wanted Jesus to tell them who the woman's husband would be in heaven.  There is a trick to the Sadducees' question.  The trick is so devious that I doubt that even the Sadducees knew it was there.  The Sadducees made an assumption about the nature of heaven.  They assumed that people would be married in heaven in the same way that they were married on earth.  Their assumption was wrong.

The Sadducees came up with this ridiculous scenario because they didn't believe in the resurrection.  They wanted to demonstrate how ridiculous the idea of life after death, the resurrection, and heaven and hell all were.  They wanted to back Jesus into a corner so that He had to admit that the whole idea of life after death is ridiculous.  They thought they had Jesus right where they wanted Him.

Of course Jesus picked up on the false assumption immediately.  The Sadducees' scenario was not ridiculous because the after life is ridiculous, but because they had made the ridiculous assumption that life in the next world is the same as it is in this world.  They assumed that people would still be married in the next life.  Jesus told them this was not the case.  He said, "[They] neither marry nor are given in marriage."


The Sadducees in today's Gospel tried to make the resurrection of the dead seem ridiculous and they failed.  Jesus not only showed them a flaw in their argument, but He then made a point of His own.  He said, "[God] is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."

Jesus not only made the point but He demonstrated it.  On the Friday after He had this debate with the Sadducees, He carried our sins to the cross and there paid the penalty for them with His very life.  The following Sunday, He Himself rose from the dead and paved the way for all who believe in Him to join Him in the everlasting paradise of heaven.

To the rabbinical way of thinking, since God used the present tense (I am) and not the past tense (I was), it indicates Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still very much alive to God. Hence there must be a resurrection from the dead and an afterlife extending into eternity. Jesus then sums it up by concluding, God is the God of the living, not the dead.

While the rabbinical argument Jesus used may noit seem overly convincing to us today, who are accustomed to evidence of a more scientific nature. let us remember that Jesus went on to rise from the dead himself and appear to many of the early diusciples. We have the testimony of the Apostles that Jesus did in act rise from the dead and Jesus' word that we shall also share a similar resurrection if we remain true to him. Let us thank God for the assurance of eternal life with him and ask for the grace to live lives   worthy of such a great calling.

The phrase "like angels" (isangeloi) is more important than we might be inclined to notice, for it is perhaps the most definite description of the state of being that will characterize us for all eternity once we are taken to the Lord in death. Angels function wholly according to their spiritual nature; they are pure intellect and free will, and adhere to God by their own choice. Since they function unimpeded in the operations of their faculties by the attachments, alterations and distortions of passion they adhere in love unalterably to God whom they contemplate and praise in unceasing worship. Because we are destined to be the same as angels, the saintly Fathers taught we become perfect by freeing our self from the distortions of passion through discipline and by the contemplation of God in his creation This in turn leads to a loving union with God which is the only state that satisfies our deepest longings.

November 17, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, November 20, 2012.

Luke: 19:1-10

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short of stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I hall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Zacchaeus was the principal tax collector for Jericho. Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world. In the time of Zacchaeus it was situated on the main trade route between the East and Egypt, at a ford in the Jordan River used for crossing over from Egypt into Israel on the way to Jerusalem. Jericho was also a resort city where the rich spent the winters, and it had an abundant supply of water. As the chief tax collector for Jericho, Zacchaeus took a part of every business transaction that touched Jericho; he was sitting on a gold mine. Today, Jericho is one of the territories governed by the Palestinians, and is a dry dusty waste of a city with but one comparatively wealthy resident, a Jewish lady doctor who tends the people.

A "descendant of Abraham" is one who puts one's faith completely in God.

What is the opposite of "love"? Is it "hate"? No, it is "selfishness". Those who love others are generous to those others.

The word "house" is oft-used by Luke, important to Luke, and thus also important to Jesus.

Zacchaeus was lost and was found by Jesus.

November 12, 2012. Homily, November 13, 2012

Memorial, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, first United States citizen to be canonized, born in Lombardy, Italy, in 1850, youngest of 13 children, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1880, founded many schools, hospitals and orphanages; in 1887 with the encouragement of Pope Leo XII, she emigrated to the United States, where in the ensuing 28 years she founded some 67 schools, hospitals and orphanages in the United States and South America (Argentina, Brazil and Nicaragua). She died December 22, 1917 in Chicago, was canonized July 7, 1946. Her body is enshrined in Cabrini Chapel situated on the northern tip of Manhattan at the entrance to Fort Tryon Park. Her mosaic likeness is in the left side of the Shrine of Charity, on the north wall of the Church upstairs


Luke 17:7-10.

Jesus said to the Apostles: "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field. 'Come here immediately and take your place at table'? Would he rather say to him, 'Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
The Gospel of the Lord.

We are reminded of the story in the synagogue. The rabbi comes into synagogue, kneels down, places his head on the floor, and says, "O God, forgive me for I am an unprofitable servant." Then the cantor, sees this, kneels down, places his head on the floor, and says, "O God, forgive me for I am an unprofitable servant." Then the elected head of the congregation sees the other two, kneels down, places his head on the floor, and says, "O God, forgive me, for I am an unprofitable servant." And the janitor standing in the back, seeing the three, kneels down, places his head on the floor, and says, "O God, forgive me, for I am an unprofitable servant." And the rabbi looks up and addresses his friends, "Look who is calling himself an unprofitable servant."

This parable makes clear: even if we live our lives perfectly from a human perspective, still we have no claim on God for the reward of heaven. Salvation comes from God not from humankind. It is God who saves us not we who save ourselves. Salvation is a gift freely bestowed on mankind because of God's great love for us.

My son got a job for Morgan Stanley Assets Management. Every night he would come home late, 8 PM, 9 PM, 11 PM, and every night I would be happy for I knew that the later they would have him work, the more they appreciated his work at the firm and that he would be rewarded. It was when, or if, he came home at 4 PM or 5 PM that I would worry.

November 9, 2012. Homily, Saturday, November 10, 2012

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.

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great:  raised to the see of Peter in 440, died in 461, a true pastor and father of souls. He labored strenuously to safeguard the integrity of the Faith and vigorously defended the unity of the Church. He pushed back or at least softened the onrush of the barbarians. He has then deservedly won the title of "the Great".

Window of the Holy Family. The Holy Family of Nazareth serves as example, guide and strength for all families of the world. St. Joseph is shown working at his carpenter's trade while Mary cares for the child Jesus. The left panel has the coat of arms of Pope Leo XIII, who occupied the chair of Peter from 1878 to 1903 (25 years, JPII was 28 years). The right panel contains the word "RERUM NOVARUM" which are the first Latin words and therefore the name of Leo's famous Encyclical on "Conditions of Laboring Men."  Issued in 1891, this document is the Magna Carta of Christian social teachings, a main thrust of the Church into the industrial revolution. Upholding the dignity of human labor, Pope Leo demanded good working conditions with honest pay. The scales of justice proclaim family security to be the solid basis of family development, health and happiness. Family peace guarantees world peace. All families have natural rights to social justice. The lower panel on the left shows all families united as one in God.


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.

November 5, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Luke 14:15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchase a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them :I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my house may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"
The Gospel of the Lord.

If you really want to do something, you always find time and opportunity to do it. If you don't want to do it, one excuse is as good as another. To excuse yourself is to accuse yourself, say the French: qui s’excuse s’accuse. Some of us spend a great part of the day making excuses. We even make excuses to ourselves, incredibly expecting ourselves to believe them. It would be interesting to study them as a kind of literary genre. They are a catalogue of dishonesty. An honest failure is a fine thing, but dishonesty has nothing to be said for it. So in Jesus’ story, the master sent out for some honest failures: “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” When there was still room, he sent out for more – from the highways and the byways.

November 5, 2012. Homily, Prayer Service, November 7, 2012

Luke 14:25-33.
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all of his possessions cannot be my disciple."
The Gospel of the Lord.


IV. v. 25-35 AN ENORMOUS PRICE

A. Lest anyone think that being a follower of Christ is cheap, Jesus makes it very plain that it is anything but cheap. The price, in fact, is more than many are ever willing to pay! (Ill. The large crowds that followed Jesus would have awed many men. However, after Jesus wooed men, He would then challenge them. It is at this point that we can safely separate the Christian from the Disciple. A Christian is one who has received Jesus into his/her heart. A disciple is one who has surrendered  EVERYTHING to Jesus and is following Him faithfully, even unto death.)

B. Jesus tells us that there are 5 basic thing we have to do to be a disciple of Christ. Anyone who is not willing to pay the price and do these things may be saved, but they are not a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the requirements for true discipleship.

1. v. 26 – The true Disciple will love Christ supremely. Every other love in our lives must seem like hate when compared to our love for Jesus Christ! This is a tall order, but it is simply the fulfillment of Mark 12:30 [the Shema].

2. v. 27a – The true Disciple will take up his cross. The cross is not a bad situation on life, it is not a disease, or some other burden. The cross is a pathway of reproach, suffering, loneliness and even death that the believer voluntarily endures for Jesus’ sake. Not all believers are cross bearers! It is possible to be saved and to leave your cross unborn. You do this by living a "nominal" Christian life. You go to church, you claim Jesus as Savior, yet your Christian walk goes no deeper. It is a surface thing in your life. But, when you decide to go all out for Jesus, you can expect to face the same level of satanic opposition that Jesus faced while here on earth. Are you bearing your cross for Christ this morning?

3. v. 27b – The true Disciple will follow Jesus – This means to be engaged in the work He did. When we are following Him, we will walk as He did, speak as He did, live as He did and love as he did. When we are following Jesus, we are demonstrating the Father to a lost and a dying world. Is it possible for people like us to live out Christ in this present day? Yes, but only so we yield to Him and allow Him to live His life through us daily – Gal. 2:20.

4. v. 28-33 The true Disciple will Count The Cost. He will weigh his worldly attachments against the demands of the cross and he will enter into the race knowing that it will cost him everything he has for the sake of Christ. His work demands that everything be placed on the altar of sacrifice. Very few are willing to pay that price, but those who are will find a grace for living that the rest never experience. They will find a peace that others cannot comprehend. They will know power with God and for God that others can only dream of. The price is outrageous to the mind of man, but when compared with the payoff, it is extremely cheap.

5. v. 34 The true Disciple will fulfill his one purpose in life. 

October 27, 2012. Homily, Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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.


Use Mother Teresa, 1910-1998: in 1946 riding a train back to Calcutta from a retreat, was watching the slums and heard a voice commanding her to help the people in the slums of Calcutta. She exchanged her habit for a white sari with blue piping, started a school, in 1950, she had 12 followers, by 1998 when when she died the Missionaries of Mary had over 4000 in 12 countries and today over 5,000 in 123 countries. Mother Teresa is the mustard seed; inn 50 years she had spread her campaign throughout the world, Something Beautiful for God, the title of Mellencamp's autobiography of Mother Teresa. 3 measures of flour is 50# with kneading the while batch may be leavened

Lex orandi, lex credendi = the rule of prayer, the rule of belief.
the rule of prayer may establish the rule of faith
the way you pray and how you pray shows what you believe
pray as if it all depends upon God and work as if it all depends upon you
The rule of faith is the word received; the Liturgy is the word expressed.
Liturgy confirms and deepens faith.
what you exhibit externally reflects what you believe internally.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: if you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.
Practice what you preach.
Laborare est orare: work is prayer.

The Word of God became a zygote, scarcely visible to the naked eye. He was born a helpless infant. His first visitors were not religious and state dignitaries but simple shepherds from the hillside. If the entry of the Word of God into human history was so humble and simple, it is not surprising that the Kingdom of God should also begin with the smallest and the most humble. The mustard seed is very tiny, but it grows into a mighty shrub. The pinch of yeast can raise three measures (about fifty pounds) of dough. To discern the Kingdom of God we need close vision, and action close to hand – not big theories and acrimonious talk.


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 26, 2012. Homily, Saturday, October 27, 2012

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.

October 25, 2012

Luke 12: 49 - 53
"I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!   I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three;  they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Reflection:  When my son was in 8th grade, he came to me and said that he had decided he no longer wanted to go to Religious Education; he did not want to become confirmed.

I asked, "Why not?"

He said, "I have decided that I am an atheist."

I said,  "You are too young and to uneducated to be an atheist."

He said, "Well, then I am an agnostic."

I said, "You could be an agnostic."

He said, "I have decided that I do not want to be confirmed,  because I do not believe,"

I said, "Look your grandmother, my mother, is a religious fanatic and your great-uncle, my uncle, is a priest, and his sister is a nun and you are going to be confirmed."

He said, "Do you want me to be confirmed even though I do not believe just to make you happy?"

I said, "Yes." And he was confirmed.

Prayer Service Wednesday, October 12, 2012

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 12,39-48
Jesus said to his disciples. 'You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'
Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?'
The Lord replied, 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food?
Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything that he owns. But if the servant says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming," and sets about beating the menservants and the servant-girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has got nothing ready and done nothing in accord with those wishes, will be given a great many strokes of the lash.
The one who did not know, but has acted in such a way that he deserves a beating, will be given fewer strokes. When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents again the exhortation to vigilance with two other parables. Yesterday, it was the parable of the Master and of the servant (Lk 12, 36-38). Today, the first parable is the one of the householder and the burglar (Lk 12, 39-40) and the other one speaks of the one of the master and the steward (Lk 12, 41-47).
• Luke 12, 39-40: The parable of the householder and of the burglar. You may be quite sure of this , that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the walls of the house. You too must stand ready, because the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. So just as the householder does not know at what hour the burglar will come, in the same way, no one knows the hour when the son of Man will arrive. Jesus says this very clearly: "But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father!” (Mk 13, 32). Today many people live worried about the end of the world. On the streets of the cities, we see written on the walls: Jesus will return! There are even persons who are in anguish because of the proximity of the end of the world, and they commit suicide. But time goes by and the end of the world does not arrive! Many times the affirmation “Jesus will return” is used to frighten people and oblige them to go to a determinate church! After that long wait and speculation around the coming of Jesus, many people no longer perceive the presence in our midst, in the most common things of life, in daily events. What is important is not to know the hour of the end of the world , but rather to have a look capable of perceiving the coming of Jesus who is already present in our midst in the person of the poor (cf Mt 25, 40) and in so many other ways and events of every day life.
• Luke 12, 41: Peter’s question. “Then, Peter said, Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone? The reason for this question asked by Peter is not clearly understood. It recalls another episode, in which Jesus responds to a similar question saying: “To you it is granted to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not granted” (Mt 13, 10-11; Lk 8, 9-10).
• Luke 12, 42-48ª: The parable of the householder and the steward. In the response to Peter’s question, Jesus formulates another question in the form of a parable: “Who then is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food?” Immediately after, Jesus himself gives the response in the parable: the good steward is the one who carries out his mission of servant, he does not use the goods received for his own advantage, and is always vigilant and attentive. Perhaps this is an indirect response to Peter’s question, as if he would say: “Peter, the parable is really for you! It is up to you to know how to administer well the mission which God has given you: to coordinate the communities. In this sense, the response is also valid for each one of us. And here the final warning acquire much sense: “When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected”.
• The coming of the Son of Man and the end of this world. The same problems existed in the Christian communities of the first centuries. Many people of the communities said that the end of this world was close at hand and that Jesus would return afterwards. Some from the community of Thessalonica in Greece, basing themselves in Paul’s preaching said: “Jesus will return!” (1 Th 4, 13-18; 2 Th 2, 2). And because of this, there were even persons who no longer worked, because they thought that the coming would be within a few days or few weeks. Why work if Jesus would return? (cf 2 Th 3, 11). Paul responds that it was not so simple as it seemed, and to those who did not work he would warn: “He who does not work has no right to eat!” Others remained looking up to Heaven, waiting for the return of Jesus on the clouds (cf. Ac 1,11). And others did not like to wait (2 P 3, 4-9). In general the Christians lived expecting the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus would come for the Final Judgment to end with the unjust history of this world here below and to inaugurate a new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heavens and the New Earth. They thought that it would take place after one or two generations. Many people would still be alive when Jesus would appear glorious in Heaven (1Th 4, 16-17; Mk 9, 1). Others, tired of waiting would say: “He will never come back!” (2 P 3, 4). Even up until today the final return of Jesus has not yet taken place! How can this delay be understood? We are not aware that Jesus has already returned, and that he is in our midst: “Look, I am with you always, yes, till the end of time”. (Mt 28, 20). He is already at our side in the struggle for justice, for peace and for life. The plenitude, the fullness has not been attained, but an example or guarantee of the Kingdom is already in our midst. This is why, we wait with firm hope the total liberation of humanity and of nature (Rm 8, 22-25). And when we wait and we struggle, we say rightly: “He is already in our midst!” (Mt 25, 40).

October 20, 2012. Homily, Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mark 10:35-45

[James and John, the sons of Zebedee [sons of Boanges, which is Sons of Thunder], came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one qt  your right and the other at  your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized' but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this they became indignant at James and John.] Jesus summoned [them] (the Twelve) and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The Gospel of the Lord.

James and John were singled out among the apostles for especial treatment by Jesus: It was James and John who accompanied Peter and Jesus for the Transfiguration and for the cure of the daughter of Jairus.  James was a leader of the Christian community in Jerusalem and the first of the apostles martyred (killed by Herod with a sword, Acts 12:2). It was John to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, the Virgin Mary. John was the apostle whom Jesus loved. John was the only apostle not martyred but instead lived to old age, past 100. John was the 4th evangelist. Three letters of John are included in the New Testament.

In Mark 10:35–45,1 Jesus and His disciples have one of the most memorable dialogues in the New Testament. In these eleven verses, Jesus emphasizes the importance of humility and service. He insists that self-giving is the only path to greatness.
In so many words, Jesus insists that we must: Climb down the ladder to greatness. In other words, instead of ambitiously seeking to climb the ladder and attain greatness, we must sacrificially serve others. Jesus reveals that He is the King of an upside down kingdom. His rules go against the grain of what our world says.

Jesus asks whether they can drink of the chalice of which Jesus will drink. James and John confidently affirm, “We are able” (10:39a). This response consists of one word in the Greek: dunametha = “We are able; we are powerful!” These brothers assume they can endure all the suffering that Jesus might have to endure because they have not understood the full ramifications of what He has predicted. They are thinking of military and political greatness. As a result, these two brothers are self-confident like Muhammad Ali. Ali was on a plane preparing for take off when a flight attendant asked him to buckle his seat belt. Ali said to her, “Superman don’t need no seat-belt.” The flight attendant quickly answered, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.” If we’re honest, we too can exude this kind of overconfidence. Yet, we must keep in mind Paul’s warnings, “Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought” (Rom 12:3) and “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1 Cor 10:12). We must recognize our deep-seated need to depend upon Christ.
 Jesus predicts the suffering of these two brothers. Interestingly, James was the first apostle to die a martyr’s death (Acts 12:2) and John was the last disciple to die in exile on the island of Patmos. So these two brothers will suffer making themselves eligible for kingdom authority; however, Jesus informs that God the Father makes the final decision who will be seated where. 

October 13, 2012. Homily, October 23, 2012

Luke 12: 35-38
Jesus said to His disciples" "Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Optional memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists.

In the day time, the "second watch" is 9 AM to Noon; and the "third watch" is Noon to 3 PM. In the night-time, the "second watch" is 9 PM to Mid-Night and the "third watch" is Mid-Night to 3 AM.

Jesus often cautioned his disciples, and thus us, to be ready. For, we know neither the day nor the hour.

The people of ancient Palestine wore loose flowing gowns because of the heat and would adjust the gowns by pulling material up over their belts: ankle length for walking, knee length for work in the fields, thigh length for dragging in the nets.

We are all stewards and servants of the Lord.

October 13, 2012. Homily, October 20, 2012.

Saint Paul of the Cross


Luke 12:8-12:
Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
"Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say, For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Today is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a bishop of the Church, martyred in 107, in his 80's, paraded before his churches on the way to Rome to be executed, and as such a martyr (witness), to Jesus Christ. He was executed in the Roman Coliseum; his form of execution was to be torn apart by wild animals. In his words, "I am God's wheat and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” On his travel to Rome, he wrote seven letters that are part of the Scripture of the Church. Ignatius of Antioch is one of the ancient fathers of the Church.

Our entrance antiphon this morning: "With Christ I am nailed to the cross. I live now not with my own life, but Christ lives within me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and sacrificed himself for me."

October 13, 2012. Homily, Feast of St. Luke, October 18, 2012

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.