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.