August 27, 2013. Prayer Service August 28, 2013

Matthew 23: 27 - 32
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers."


‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

The following is from an anonymous 5th-century commentary on Scripture called An Incomplete Work on Matthew. “As long as a sepulchre is closed, it can have a beautiful outward appearance, but if it is opened, it looks horrifying. The case of hypocrites is similar; as long as they are not recognised for who they really are, they can be praiseworthy, but when they are found out, they appear disgusting. Tell me, hypocrite, if it is so good to be good, why do you not strive to be truly what you only appear to be? And if it is so bad to be evil, then why do you allow yourself to be in truth what you would never want to appear to be? What appears to be ugly is even uglier in reality, but what is beautiful in appearance is much more beautiful in reality. Therefore either be what you appear to be, or appear to be what you are.”

It would but hard to match that for clarity and vigour. Under such an unblinking stare, all of us, I think, would have to lower our eyes. Does he leave us any wiggle room at all? I see a little bit at the end: “appear to be what you are.” If I know I'm a bit of a hypocrite and I say so openly, then I'm no longer a hypocrite! Easy! If I say the truth about myself, no matter how unedifying it is, then I'm standing in the truth; and the truth sets me free. Everything that I conceal in the heart grows, like plants in rich soil; but everything that is put out is dispersed in the wind. We are all tempted to hide the bad things about ourselves and advertise the good things. So the bad things grow, and the good things are dissipated. If we could do just the reverse: hide the good things – or at least don't go around advertising them; and tell all the bad things: ‘Hey, I'm a chancer, I tell lies to avoid trouble and embarrassment, and I'm lazy...’ we would have nothing to conceal from Anonymous, and we might even have the courage to look him in the eye – to see if he is hiding anything!

August 27, 2013. Homily, Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Matthew 23:23-26.

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

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

The Gospel of the Lord.



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

mint and dill and cummin are all spices.

tithe the inconsequential while ignoring the consequential - judgment and mercy and fidelity.

strain the gnat but swallow the camel.







Matthew 23:23-26

Saint Monica

25 August
Mt 23:23-26

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

The following is from an anonymous 5th-century commentary on Scripture called An Incomplete Work on Matthew. “As long as a sepulchre is closed, it can have a beautiful outward appearance, but if it is opened, it looks horrifying. The case of hypocrites is similar; as long as they are not recognised for who they really are, they can be praiseworthy, but when they are found out, they appear disgusting. Tell me, hypocrite, if it is so good to be good, why do you not strive to be truly what you only appear to be? And if it is so bad to be evil, then why do you allow yourself to be in truth what you would never want to appear to be? What appears to be ugly is even uglier in reality, but what is beautiful in appearance is much more beautiful in reality. Therefore either be what you appear to be, or appear to be what you are.”

It would but hard to match that for clarity and vigour. Under such an unblinking stare, all of us, I think, would have to lower our eyes. Does he leave us any wiggle room at all? I see a little bit at the end: “appear to be what you are.” If I know I'm a bit of a hypocrite and I say so openly, then I'm no longer a hypocrite! Easy! If I say the truth about myself, no matter how unedifying it is, then I'm standing in the truth; and the truth sets me free. Everything that I conceal in the heart grows, like plants in rich soil; but everything that is put out is dispersed in the wind. We are all tempted to hide the bad things about ourselves and advertise the good things. So the bad things grow, and the good things are dissipated. If we could do just the reverse: hide the good things – or at least don't go around advertising them; and tell all the bad things: ‘Hey, I'm a chancer, I tell lies to avoid trouble and embarrassment, and I'm lazy...’ we would have nothing to conceal from Anonymous, and we might even have the courage to look him in the eye – to see if he is hiding anything!

August 21, 2013. Homily, Saturday, August 24, 2013

Feast of Saint Bartholomew


John 1:47-51

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things that this." And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Palestine is a scorching hot country, and people often had a fig tree growing at the door of their house. Besides fruit it offered shade in the heat. It would be a place to sit and be quiet. It may be that Nathanael had been praying under the fig tree when Jesus spotted him earlier. “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile!” Jesus had said. Our faces, it may be, are never so transparent as when we are praying.

Today is the feast day of Bartholomew who appears in the first three Gospels with Philip but in John Philip's companion is Bartholomew.

How could Jesus have seen Nathanael under the fig tree? Maybe Nathanael was praying. Maybe Jesus as part of the Trinity observed Nathanael praying. How did Jesus know Nathanael was without guile? Maybe Nathanael was praying and Maybe "Our faces, it may be, are never so transparent as when we are praying." And maybe the above string of inferences was known to Nathanael and was why "Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.'"

Prayer Service, Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to to hire laborers for his vinyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyrd. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idly in the marketplace, and he said to them, "You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just. So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'  They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay,  beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came they thought that they would receive more, but each of them got the usual wage. And in receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus the last will be first and the first last."

If one does not end his life as a saint, his life is wasted.

Do you want to grumble against the Lord on judgment day.

August 19, 2013. Homily Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Matthew 19:23-30

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

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

Father Kennedy and being there for me when needed. Like a father.
You love your children more than you love your parents.

Augusst 6, 2013. Homily, Saturday, August 17, 2013

Matthew 19:13-15

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



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

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

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

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

Some of the most fundamental issues for the formation of a Catholic conscience are as follows: sacredness of human life from conception to natural death, marriage, religious freedom and freedom of conscience, and a right to private property.

I say to you, "Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, then I am with you."  When [adults] brought children to Jesus that he might lay hands on them, those adults plus the child were two or more gathered in the name of Jesus and by his laying his hands on them, Jesus was with them.

A relative of mine came to visit me with her significant other; they argued in favor of a homosexual relationship. I said to them that there are things you learn when you are older that you do not know when you are younger. Like what?  Things. Like what?  Well, you learn that you love your children more than you love your parents.
My relative told me that would not happen to her because she really loved her mother.  I said that she asked me for an example and I gave her one. She repeated that would not happen to her. 
I said that in 20 years, you two come back, you can pay for the lunch and you can tell me what you believe then.  Last month I met the two again. My relative had twins artificially inseminated and her one-time room-mate was married with three children.

August 7, 2013. Homily, August 10, 2013

John 12:24-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."
The Gospel of the Lord.

By Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Presentation The leitmotiv of the present Way of ... who sought to see him: "unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, ...... Jesus is the grain of wheat which dies. From that lifeless grain of comes the Way of the Cross, the Way of Jesus.

  
OPENING PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, for our sake you became like the grain of wheat that falls to the earth and dies, so that it may bear much fruit (cf. Jn.12:24). You invited us to follow you along this path when you told us “the one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (Jn.12:25). Yet we are attached to our life. We do not want to abandon it; we want to keep it all for ourselves. We want to hold on to it, not to give it away. But you go before us, showing us that it is only by giving away our life that we can save it.
As we walk with you on the Way of the Cross, you lead us along the way of the grain of wheat, the way of a fruitfulness that leads to eternity. The cross, our self-offering, weighs heavily upon us. Along your own Way of the Cross you also carried my cross. Nor did you carry it just at one distant moment in the past, for your love continues to accompany every moment of my life. Today you carry that cross with me and for me, and, amazingly, you want me, like Simon of Cyrene, to join you in carrying your cross; you want me to walk at your side and place myself with you at the service of the world’s redemption.

Grant that my Way of the Cross may not be just a moment of passing piety. Help all of us to accompany you not only with noble thoughts, but with all our hearts and in every step we take each day of our lives. Help us resolutely to set out on the Way of the Cross and to persevere on your path. Free us from the fear of the cross, from the fear of mockery, from the fear that our life may escape our grasp unless we cling pos sessively to everything it has to offer. Help us to unmask all those temptations that promise life, but whose enticements in the end leave us only empty and deluded. Help us not to take life, but to give it. As you accompany us on the path of the grain of wheat, help us to discover, in “los ing our lives,” the path of love, the path that gives us true life, and life in abundance (Jn.10:10).

Opening prayer to the Way of the Cross 2005 by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI


St Laurence was martyred in Rome in 258 during the persecution under the Roman emperor Valerian. He was among the seven deacons serving Pope St Sixtus II, who was martyred a few days before Laurence. When he was challenged to hand over the Church’s treasure to the authorities, he asked for a few days’ grace; then “he went all over the city, seeking out in every street the poor who were supported by the Church, and with whom no other was so well acquainted. On the third day, he gathered together a great number of them before the church and placed them in rows: the decrepit, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans and widows; then he went to the prefect, invited him to come and see the treasure of the Church.”
Although Lawrence was probably beheaded, St Ambrose of Milan and the Latin poet Prudentius, among others, recorded that he was roasted to death on a gridiron. Many conversions to Christianity throughout Rome reportedly followed Laurence's death, including those of several senators witnessing his execution. The Basilica of San Lorenzo, Rome, was built over his burial place.
Posted by Daniel Murphy at 10:39 AM  

August 5, 2013. Prayer Service, Wednesday, August 7, 2013.

Matthew 15:21-28

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of the district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."  But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked of him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Gospel of the Lord.


Do you ever feel "put-off" or ignored by the Lord? This passage describes the only occasion in which Jesus ministered outside of Jewish territory. (Tyre and Sidon were fifty miles north of Israel and still exist today in modern Lebanon.) A Gentile woman, a foreigner who was not a member of the Jewish people, puts Jesus on the spot by pleading for his help. She addressed Jesus as Lord and Son of David. She recognized that Jesus was God's annoined one who would bring healing and salvation, not only to the people of Israel, but to the Gentiles as well. She asks Jesus to show mercy and compassion to her tormented daughter. At first Jesus seemed to pay no attention to her, and this made his disciples feel embarrassed. Jesus does this to test the woman to awaken faith in her.
When she persisted in asking Jesus to heal her daughter, Jesus answered by saying one shouldn't take food prepared for their children and throw it to the dogs. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles as "unclean dogs" since they worshipped idols, offered sacrifices to demons, and rejected the true God. For the Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of dishonor and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman. Matthew 7:6 records the expression: do not give dogs what is holy. Jesus was sent from the Father in heaven to first feed the children of Israel with the true bread of life that would bring healing, reconciliation, and lasting union with God. This humble Canaanite woman was not put-off by Jesus' refusal to give her what she asked for. In desparation and hope for her tormented child, she pleads with Jesus to give some of the "crumbs that fall from the table" to the "little dogs".

John Chrysostom (349-407 AD), in his sermon on this passage, remarks how this woman approached Jesus with great humility, wisdom, and faith:

"See her humility as well as her faith! For he had called the Jews 'children,' but she was not satisfied with this. She even called them 'masters,' so far was she from grieving at the praises of others. She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.' Behold the woman's wisdom! She did not venture so much as to say a word against anyone else. She was not stung to see others praised, nor was she indignant to be reproached. Behold her constancy. When he answered, 'It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs,' she said, 'Yes, Lord.' He called them 'children,' but she called them 'masters.' He used the name of a dog, but she described the action of a dog. Do you see the woman's humility? ...Do you see how this woman, too, contributed not a little to the healing of her daughter? For note that Christ did not say, 'Let your little daughter be made whole,' but 'Great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire.' These words were not uttered at random, nor were they flattering words, but great was the power of her faith, and for our learning. He left the certain test and demonstration, however, to the issue of events. Her daughter accordingly was immediately healed." [The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 52.3]
Jesus praised this woman for her faith and for her love because she made the misery of her child her own. She was willing to suffer rejection in order to obtain healing for her loved one. She also had indomitable persistence. Her faith grew in contact with the person of Jesus. She began with a request and she ended on her knees in worshipful prayer to the living God. No one who ever sought Jesus with faith – whether Jew or Gentile – was refused his help. Do you seek Jesus with expectant faith?
"Lord Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May I trust you always and pursue you with indomitable persistence as this woman did. Increase my faith in your saving power and deliver me from all evil and harm. " 

August 5, 2013. Homily, August 6, 2013

Luke 9:28b-36
The Transfiguration
Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed its appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. " But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him. [This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!]" After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Meditation: God wants to share his glory with us!  We get a glimpse of this when the disciples see Jesus transfigured in glory on the mountain.  Luke's account tells us that Jesus' face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God (see Exodus 34:29). Paul says that the Israelites could not look at Moses' face because of its brightness (2 Cor. 3:7). In this incident Jesus appeared in glory with Moses, the great lawgiver of Israel, and with Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, in the presence of three of his beloved apostles. What is the significance of this mysterious appearance? Jesus went to the mountain knowing full well what awaited him in Jerusalem -- his betrayal, rejection and crucifixion. Jesus very likely discussed this momentous decision to go to the cross with Moses and Elijah. God the Father also spoke with Jesus and gave his approval: This is my beloved Son; listen to him. The cloud which overshadowed Jesus and his apostles fulfilled the dream of the Jews that when the Messiah came the cloud of God's presence would fill the temple again (see Exodus 16:10, 19:9, 33:9; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Maccabees 2:8). 
While this transpired Peter, James, and John were asleep!  Upon awakening they discovered the transfiguration of Jesus along with Moses and Elijah.  How much do we miss of God's glory and action because we are asleep spiritually?  There are many things which can keep our minds asleep to the things of God: Mental lethargy and the "unexamined life" can keep us from thinking things through and facing our doubts and questions.  The life of ease can also hinder us from considering the challenging or disturbing demands of Christ.  Prejudice can make us blind to something new the Lord may have for us.  Even sorrow can be a block until we can see past it to the glory of God.  Are you spiritually awake? Peter, James, and John were privileged witnesses of the glory of Christ. We, too, as disciples of Christ are called to be witnesses of his glory. We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). The Lord wants to reveal his glory to us, his beloved disciples. Do you seek his presence with faith and reverence?

"Lord, keep me always alert and awake to you, to your word, your action, and your daily presence in my life.  Let me see your glory." 

Moses represents the Law, the Torah.
Elijah represents the prophets. Elijah was paramount among the prophets: he had bested the 450 priests of Baal in a dramatic showdown as to who was the true God [calling down fire to burn the sacrifice to God], God passed before Elijah hidden in his cave at Mount Hereb as a gentle wind, at the end of his life Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, Elijah was to return as a precursor of the Messiah.  Taken together Moses and Elijah signified the major portion of revelation prior to Jesus - the Law [the Torah] and the Prophets.  Moses and Elijah appeared in Glory, "glory" meaning radiance signifying the presence of God. The Exodus of the people from Egypt is the central act in Judaism, and the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is the central act in Christianity. 

Arian heresy: Jesus was simply human but not divine. rebutted by Transfiguration.
Monophysite heresy: Jesus was only divine but not human. rebutted by Agony in the Garden.

July 29, 2013. Tuesday, Homily, July 30, 2013

Matthew 13: 36-43.

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."  He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the seed is the word, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Lord's explanation of that parable is not of human origin. It is of divine origin. For only the Lord could speak so intimately (with authority) of  the Son of Man, the children of the Kingdom, the end of the age, the enemy is the Devil, the angels of the Son of Man (his angels), and at the end of the age the angels choosing those from the Kingdom who had caused others to sin and who were evildoers to be bound and cast into the fiery furnace while the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father. When one reads the parable being interpreted by Jesus, the parable makes clear that the evildoers are not plucked out at the beginnings of their lives but, instead, are left to live alongside the righteous until the end of the age. Since they are allowed to persist, they are retain the opportunity to repent until the end of the age.

July 26, 2013. Homily, July 27, 2013

Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds: "The Kingdom of heaven my be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have all the weeds come from? He answered, 'An enemy has dome this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
The Gospel of the Lord.

The weed in the parable was darnel, a plant that has a resemblance to wheat. Evil takes care to look like good. If everything evil looked evil, our life would have wonderful clarity, but alas! it isn't so.

Our world today pays incredibly detailed attention to image: it’s the age of the image, almost to the point of discarding substance.

The parable summons us to careful discernment. It is while we are asleep spiritually that the devil sows tares among the wheat, said an ancient writer.

However, we can be too clear at times – clearer than truth and love. We can imagine that the distinction between wheat and tares is settled, and of course we think of ourselves as the wheat. So all Catholics are going to hell; or all non-Catholics, depending on which group you belong to. St Augustine wrote his wise words on this subject: “Let the one who is wheat persevere until the harvest; let those who are weeds be changed into wheat. There is this difference between people and real grain or weeds: what was grain in the field is grain and what were weeds are weeds. But in the Lord’s field, which is the Church, at times what was grain turns into weeds, and at times what were weeds turn into grain; and no one knows what they will be tomorrow.”
Posted by Daniel Murphy at 4:29 PM 

July 24, 2013. Prayer Service, Wednesday, July 25, 2013.

Matthew 13:1-9:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  

Matthew 13:18-23
“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” 

Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus as the Word is the source of all in the Universe and the source of life.
And some of what Jesus sows does not bear fruit but what does bear fruit may multiply 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold.

This is the optional memorial of Saint Shazrbel Mkhluf, a monk and priest of the Lebanese Maronite Order in Annayu, Lebanon who spent many hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. He later lives as a hermit of his order. He celebrated Mass close to noon so as to devote the morning to preparation and the afternoon to thanksgiving.

In 1972, I  had a case in Beirut, Lebanon, a beautiful city by the Mediterranean Sea. You could ski down the mountain to the beach to swim. It was the spy center of the Mediterranean. It is now ravaged by war. 

July 22, 2013. Homily, July 23, 2013.

Matthew 12:46-50.

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."


Saint Bridget of Sweden.  

Born 1303 in Sweden, died at Rome in 1373. 
Married and had eight children, devoted mother, after husband's death, devoted herself to the ascetic life as a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, then started a religious order, made penitential pilgrimage to Rome, was a model of great virtue to all, wrote many works about her mystical experiences.


A parable of Jesus is a container made of words. We pour into it what we know from our life experiences and we pour our of it what we need. So here, we have our own experience of our mother and our brothers and our sisters and of those times when they have disturbed us at our work and our reactions to that.  But this is Jesus and the mother of Jesus and the reaction of Jesus to His mother, and we know that the mother of Jesus is the perfect vessel of the will of God, for when God through the archangel Gabriel asked for her obedience she said "Yes".  And we know that Jesus loved His mother and that His mother's life was to do the will of God.  We saw that at the wedding feast of Cana, when she asked the help of Jesus, and Jesus said, "Woman, my time has not yet come" and Mary said to the servants, "Do whatever he asks." And Jesus asked the servant to fill the water vessels and then performed the miracle of water into wine.  And so here, Jesus answers the messenger by elevating the disciples of Jesus, us, to the status of brother of Jesus, sister of Jesus, and even mother of Jesus.

July 15, 2013. Homily, July 16, 2013

Homily, July 14, 2009
Mt. 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For, if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell  you ,it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment thean for you. As for you, Capernaum:

   Will you be exalted to heaven?! You will go down to the netherworld.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

The Gospel of the Lord.


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

Today July 16th is the optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. May there thrive a contemplation of her, the Blessed Virgin and Mother, who from the beginning knew how to open herself to obeying God's Word and to obeying his will.  The most genuine devotion to the Blessed Mother is expressed by the humble sign of the scapular. 



In 1254, St. Simon Stock was elected Superior-General of the Carmelite Order in London. As a young man he took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he joined the hermits on Mount Carmel. He then returned to Europe and founded Carmelite communities in University towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna. St. Simon helped to change the Carmelites from a hermit order to one of mendicant friars.

Like the other mendicant orders, the Franciscans and Dominicans, the Carmelites were under attack as being too radical. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Simon on July 16, 1251. As he gave him a brown scapular she said "Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the special sign of my favor, which I have obtained for thee and for thy children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection." 

A scapular consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. Over the years the Church has encouraged all Catholics to wear a scapular that is usually worn under one’s clothing. Pope John Paul II revealed that he wore one. There is an investiture ceremony that should be done by a priest.

One of the conditions of Our Lady for the fulfillment of the promises associated the scapular (the Sabbatine privilege) is to observe chastity according to one’s state of life. That will be different for a married person than someone who is single.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is an antidote for the culture of death today. On Mount Carmel Elijah called the people of Israel to abandon the worship of false gods and the associated sexual immorality and human sacrifice associated with it. 

In many ways the United States and Europe are like Israel in the times of Elijah. Compared to former times we live in an age of peace and prosperity, but many abandoned the worship of the true God and follow false gods of materialism, pleasure, absolute personal autonomy.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel calls us to stop straddling the issue of who is the real God. We cannot have one foot in the culture of death that tolerates the killing of unborn children by abortion and other attacks on life, chastity and the family and be a true Christian. 

Please join me in praying the following to Our Lady of Mount Carmel for an end to the culture of death in the United States and throughout the world:

O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in this necessity; there are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein that you are my Mother. Our Lady, Queen and beauty of Carmel, pray for me and obtain my requests. Sweet Mother, I place this cause into your hands.

July 8, 2013. Homily, Saturday, July 13, 2013

Matthew 10:24-33.

Jesus said to His Apostle; "No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household.
"Therefore, do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness,  speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever who denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Three times in this Gospel,  near the beginning, at the middle and near the end,  Jesus tells His disciples "do not be afraid".  When Pope John Paul II was consecrated Pope, he followed John Paul I who was Pope for only thirty days, Paul VI and John XXIII, and John Paul II's first words on assuming the papacy were "Do not be afraid".  John Paul II was shot six years into his papacy and he went on to work with Solidarity to free Poland, to see the Berlin Wall fall, and to serve 26 years in the papacy. Pope John Paul II was not afraid. He lived two decades with a bullet in his abdomen and showed us how to live as witness to Jesus and, eventually, how to die in the arms of Jesus. His final words, in Polish,  were "Let me go to the house of the Father."
John Paul the Great. The crowd outside the Vatican as he died called out "Santo subito". Make him a saint now.  ANd now Poope Francis has declared Pope John Paul II a saint, together with John XXIII.

Today is the feast of Saint Henry, born in Bavavria, Emperor at the turn of first millenium declared a saint together with his wife St. Cunegunda. Saint Henry and his wife ministered to the poor, missions to the Slavs.

July 8, 2013. Prayer Service, July 10, 2013.

Matthew 10,1-7
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: 'Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.


 Matthew 10, 2-4: The list of the names of the Twelve Apostles. A good number of these names come from the Old Testament.  For example, Simon is the name of one of the sons of the Patriarch Jacob (Gn 29, 33). James is the same as Giacomo (Gn 25, 26). Judas is the name of the other son of Jacob (Gn 35, 23). Matthew also had the name of Levi (Mk 2, 14), who was the other son of Jacob (Gn 35, 23). Of the Twelve Apostles seven have a name which comes from the time of the Patriarchs.  Two are called Simon; two are called James; two are called Judas, one Levi!  Only one has a Greek name: Philip. This reveals the desire of people to start again the history from the beginning! Perhaps it is good to think in the names which are given today to the children when they are born.  Because each one of us is called by God by his/her name.   
• Matthew 10, 5-7: The sending out or the mission of the twelve apostles toward the lost sheep of Israel.  After having given the list of the names of the twelve, Jesus sends them out with the following recommendation: “Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town, go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand”.  In this one phrase there is a three-fold insistence in showing that the preference of the mission is for the House of Israel: (1) Do not go among the gentiles, (2) do not enter into the towns of the Samaritans, (3) rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. Here appears a response to the doubt of the first Christians concerning opening up to pagans. Paul, who strongly affirmed the openness to the gentiles, agrees in saying that the Good News of Jesus should first be announced to the Jews and, then to the gentiles

July 8, 2013. Homily, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Matthew 9:32-38


A Demoniac, who could not speak, was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the prince of demons."
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for the harvest."
The Gospel of the Lord.


You say that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. But if I drive out demons by the prince of demons, Beelzebub, then by whom do your children drive out demons. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God had come upon you.


The next line is a summary of the activities of Jesus over the last five chpters. He is a teacher, healer, and  a proclaimer of good news [the Gospel] for all the people.


"[S]o ask the master of the harvest, to send out laborers for the harvest." Luke 10:2 Jesus chose seventy of his disciples and sent them out two by two.


The Demoniac was brought to Jesus.
The friends of the Demoniac had not given up hope. 
THAT IS WHEN THE MIRCLE HAPPENED. 
NO ONE IS BEYOND THE HELP OF JESUS.

July 1, 2013. Homily, Tuesday, June 2, 2013

Matthew 8:23-27.

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

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

June 24, 2013. Homily, Sunday, June 30, 2013.

Luke 9:51-61.

When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples [the brothers] James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you ant us to call down the fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." To him, Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."


The brothers James and John, revolutionaries, were called "sons of thunder,"  Boarges.

However, we read, "But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village" ( Luke 9:55, 56). Let's think about a few things we learn from this incident.
First, God does not desire that anyone be lost. God wants all men to be saved and so he is patient, kind, and longsuffering. God is desirous that men repent and live. James and John's request to bring down fire upon these Samaritans was out of character with God's desires for man's salvation.

Second, attitude plays a key role in preaching the gospel. Jesus said of James and John, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." Their attitudes were not right. They should have been seeking to forgive these Samaritans instead of condemn them.

Third, we must realize that Satan is the enemy, not other men.

Job: why is light given to the toilers and life to the bitter in spirit.

Jesus is patient with those who do not accept him.

When one promises, "wherever you go", the place is not guaranteed.  Think of the Jesuit saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who died of the plague at 23. 

"Let me go first and bury my father" but we do not know if the father was sick and dying or merely old.

Think of Andre who asked for more time before he committed to the Jesuits which was granted, but when he returned to take up his place it was not permitted for noone says "No" to the Jesuits twice.

June 24, 3013. Homily, June 25, 2013

Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples: 
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces."
"Do to others what ever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets."
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."


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

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

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

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

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

June 18, 2013. Homily, Saturday, June 22, 2013

Saint Paulinus of Nolte, Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mt. 6:24-34

Jesus said to His disciples; "No one 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.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them/ Are you not more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes?Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.  If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."
The Gospel of the Lord


The Lion King: Hakuna matata  [What a wonderful phrase. It means no worries for the rest of your days] sung by the warthog and the meerkat 
and Alfred E. Newman [What me worry]



So here's the heart of the question of worry. Do we trust God? God tells us to trust him. "If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?" Dare we?

June 17, 2013. Homily, June 18, 2013

Matthew 5: 43-48.
Jesus said to His disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
The Gospel of the Lord.

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

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

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

June 10, 2013, Homily, Saturday, June 15, 2013

Matthew 5:33-37.

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

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

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

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

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

June 10, 2013. Homily, June 11, 2013

Matthew 10:7-13

Jesus said to the Twelve: "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts, no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

As you enter a house, wish it peace. 

If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it.

If not. let your peace return to you.




Matthew 5:13-16

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

Salt:  preservative of food (salt draws moisture out; decomposition cannot occur without moisture), curative of wounds (an antiseptic that kills bacteria; rubbing salt in a wound prevents infection), enhancer of food (brings out flavor for food otherwise bland).
City set on a mountain:  for defensive purposes and so that all (travelers and traders) may be drawn to it.
Light a lamp:  set on a shelf so that it may illuminate the house.  Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father (as Christians we should be lights leading people to God and away from evil).

June 6, 2013. Homily, June 10, 2013

The Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Luke 2:41-52.

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
The Gospel of the Lord.

 Her appearances: the Signpost
                              the Virgin of Guadulupe, 1532
                              Lourdes - the healing spring
                              Fatima - the sun shaken out of its course

The family is the privileged setting where every person learns to give and to receive love.
The family is the intermediate institution between individuals and society.
The family is a great and lifelong treasure for couples.
The family is a school.
The Holy Family is a model for the family.
   - Pope Benedict XVI.

A gospel of Luke. Dear and Glorious Physician, the title of the book on the life of Luke by Taylor Caldwell. At the cross, Jesus committed the care of his mother to the apostle John, the apostle that Jesus loved, and said to Mary, "Woman, behold your son" and to John, "Behold your mother." And John immediately took Mary into his home.

At the end of their days, John and Mary lived in Ephesus, then a commercial metropolis on a harbor of the Mediterranean, over time the entrance to the harbor silted up, and Ephesus was abandoned. Now, ancient Ephesus is a valley leading down to the Sea, some two miles away, and the sides of the valley have been dug away revealing houses along both sides of the valley. The floor of the valley is a stream with a bed made of marble, and street lights with the reflecting surfaces made of sheets of marble. There is a Library and an ancient toilet facility. The recovery effort is perhaps half completed. The tradition is that Luke would visit Mary where she was living with John and that Mary told Luke stories of the childhood of Jesus. This gospel is one of those stories. Also, Luke drew a portrait of Mary, which we call the Signpost; the original was destroyed but a copy remains which is the picture we know and distribute here in our parish as prayer cards with the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

When we read this gospel, it says that Jesus was 12 years old. Every year a faithful Jew must travel to the Temple to worship. Jesus and his family were on that pilgrimage and his parents lost him, and went back looking for him. "They found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers." So Jesus was 12 in the midst of the the teachers "listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers." We can compute his IQ from these facts. IQ or Intelligence Quotient is your score on a test at a given age as compared with the average score of a person who is 16. If you score the same as a person of 16, you IQ is 100, if your score 50% higher your IQ is 150. 150 is the score of very intelligent persons; 200 is the theoretical top score. If we assume that the IQ of the teachers in the temple were 150, then their mental ages were 16 plus 50% of 16 or 24. Then if the if the understanding and answers of the child Jesus at 12 "astounded" the teachers, he at 12 was at a higher level than them; if their IQ's were 150, or a mental age of 24, then the mental age of the 12 year old Jesus was higher than 24, so that his IQ was higher than 200.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" We have two uses of the term, "Father" one by Mary, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." That "father' being Joseph. and the second by Jesus, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Or in other words, Why did you find it so hard to locate me, did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? That "Father" being God, the temple where they found Jesus being the house of God.

And they (Jesus and Mary) did not understand "and his mother kept all these things in her heart."

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. And Jesus lived with his parents until He was 30 years of age and began his public life.

June 1, 2013. Homily, Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Mark 12:13-17.

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's stature but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him.
The Gospel of the Lord.

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

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

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

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

May 27, 2013. Homily, May 28, 2013

Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more in this present age: house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last and the last will be first."
The Gospel of the Lord.

Yesterday's Gospel was about the young man who ran up to Jesus and asked, "Lord, what must I do to be saved?" Jesus answered, "Follow the commandments." "Lord, I have followed the commandments since my youth." "Then, if you would be saved, give up all that you have to the poor and come and follow me." And the young man turned away saddened, for he had much property.

Then in today's Gospel Jesus responds to yesterday's Gospel and promises "a hundred times more in this present age" to those who have given up family and property to follow Jesus.

He defended the commandment to honour one’s father and mother (Mk 7:10-13), but here he was asserting freedom from control by one’s family. The call to discipleship is not necessarily in conflict with family, but in case of conflict it has to take priority over it.
Here we have the oft-repeated paradox of the Gospel, set off very clearly against yesterday’s account of the rich young man: when we try to possess something we lose it; it is only when we are prepared to give it away that it really becomes ours (Mt 10:39; 16:25; Mk 8:30; Lk 9:24).