October 23, 2020

I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace…   (Ephesians 4:1-6)

St. Paul included the following in his letter to the Ephesians in approximately 60 AD: “I urge you to live…with all humility and gentleness…”

Pope Francis included the following in a homily in June of 2014: “Jesus did not come to conquer men like the kings and the powerful of this world, but He came to offer love with gentleness and humility. He allows us to witness this love to our brothers and sisters in humble and gentle service.”

Over 1900 years later, God’s message remains the same.

I had the honor of being a guest on the National Catholic Educational Association podcast, speaking on a variety of topics under the Respect for Life umbrella. Here is the link if you’d like to listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/live…/id1503428728……

October 22, 2020 – Feast of Saint Pope John Paul II

Saint John Paul II’s Story

“Open wide the doors to Christ,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass where he was installed as pope in 1978.

Born in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Jozef Wojtyla had lost his mother, father, and older brother before his 21st birthday. Karol’s promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. While working in a quarry and a chemical factory, he enrolled in an “underground” seminary in Kraków. Ordained in 1946, he was immediately sent to Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology.

Back in Poland, a short assignment as assistant pastor in a rural parish preceded his very fruitful chaplaincy for university students. Soon Fr. Wojtyla earned a doctorate in philosophy and began teaching that subject at Poland’s University of Lublin.

Communist officials allowed Wojtyla to be appointed auxiliary bishop of Kraków in 1958, considering him a relatively harmless intellectual. They could not have been more wrong!

October 21, 2020

“Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.” (Luke 12:39-48)

These are challenging words Jesus presented to His disciples in today’s Gospel. That “hour” He describes is Judgment Day, when our time on this earth ends.

When we meet Jesus face to face at the end of our days, who will He see?

Will He see someone who was only concerned about his own needs? Someone who lived carelessly and recklessly, always thinking, “I will make amends tomorrow”? Someone who rolled the dice, always assuming he had plenty of time left to get his life back on the right path?

Or will He meet someone who understood that how he lived his life on this earth mattered? Someone who understood God’s plan for him, and lived his life in service to Him and others? Someone who was prepared for this day, and meets Jesus confidently and joyfully?

Near the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus advised His disciples to “be vigilant at all times.”

October 20, 2020

He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near… (Ephesians 2:12-22)

I see so many people, especially young people, trying to manage the stress they have allowed to be a part of their lives. You can see in their attitude and demeanor, and often in their physical appearance, that they are losing their battle against stress. Because of this, people who seem to be at peace really stand out in the crowd.

People who are at peace generally don’t stress over things that they can’t control. They tend to be reflective. Most importantly, they make time for prayer and put their trust, and their lives, in the hands of God.

That is what Jesus desires for us. He preached peace. How many times did He greet His disciples with, “Peace be with you?”

May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you today.

October 19, 2020

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:13-21)

Homily originally delivered in July of 2016 at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis:

I want to share a fascinating thing I have discovered about the homeless population: When offered food, blankets, or other basic necessities, they do not take more than they need. It would certainly be justified if they did. Why not grab a second sandwich? Who knows when they will get another chance to eat?

I noticed this phenomenon in my very first encounter with homeless people, on a trip to San Diego years ago.

Carol and I walked from our hotel through downtown San Diego one morning to attend Mass at a nearby church. There were homeless people everywhere – sleeping on every park bench, in the doorway of every place of business, leaning up against every trash can or dumpster, in the alleys, in the little park in the center of downtown – everywhere. We saw literally hundreds of homeless on our 10-block walk to the church. This was a completely new experience for us.

After Mass, we stayed in church for a short time, praying about what our response should be. We felt like we had to do something. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a bakery. We gathered what money we had and bought as much as we could from the bakery display case.

We assumed it wouldn’t last long – assumed the first few homeless people we encountered would grab whatever they could. I guess we were picturing a piranha feeding frenzy of some sort.

October 18, 2020 – Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22:15-21)

The Pharisees and Herodians had heard Jesus say, “You can’t serve two masters.” They attempted to trip Him up by asking whether or not they should pay taxes to Caesar – can one serve both God and the Roman Emperor? By saying, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” Jesus made the distinction between being in this world and being of this world.

We are in this world. Because we are in this world, as good citizens we must abide by its laws, assuming they are not immoral or directly in conflict with God’s law. Speed limits, taxes, neighborhood association bylaws, school dress codes, and airport security searches are all expectations society may put on its citizens. We abide by these rules as they are reasonable and or may help maintain order.

Unfortunately, society also allows for, accepts, and in many cases seems to endorse, many other behaviors for those wishing to be of this world: materialism, abortion, disregard for the dignity of human life, sexual immorality, and much more.

Many people choose to be both in this world and of this world. Unfortunately for those who do, God’s law becomes more and more distant, often falling out of sight altogether.

Jesus urges us to recognize the difference between being in this world and being of this world. Be in this world (repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar) when it comes to following its laws, but do not get caught up in the immoral behaviors it promotes. Instead, do those things that will lead you to the Kingdom of God (repay to God what belongs to God).

October 17, 2020

If you have a couple of minutes to spare, here is the homily I delivered at St. Pius X on Mass last Thursday morning:

October 16, 2020

Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:1-7)

These are reassuring words from Jesus to His disciples. They should reassure us as well.

At times, we may feel that God has forgotten about us. This feeling comes from our own insecurity, our own sense of unworthiness. Why would God “waste” His time on me? Surely He has better things to do then worry about me.

The message from Jesus is the same message that we have shared with our students the last few years: “You are loved. You have value. You are not alone.”

No one is beyond the notice of God. We are worth His time and attention.

October 15, 2020 – Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Saint Teresa is among the most important figures of all time for Catholic spirituality. Her works – especially the four best known (The Life, The Way of Perfection, The Mansions and The Foundations) – together with her more historical works, contain a doctrine which encompasses the whole of the spiritual life, from the first steps right up to intimacy with God at the centre of the Interior Castle.

Her Letters show her occupied with a great variety of everyday problems. Her doctrine on the unity of the soul with God (a doctrine which was intimately lived by her) follows the Carmelite tradition which had preceded her and to which she herself contributed in such a notable way, enriching it as well as passing the tradition on, not only to her spiritual sons and daughters, but also to the whole Church which she served so unsparingly.

When she was dying, her one joy was to be able to affirm that “I die a daughter of the Church.”

Source: http://ocarm.org/en/content/liturgy/st-teresa-jesus-virgin-and-doctor-church-feast