Nov 2024

Homily For November 17, 2024, 33^RD Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

In the introduction to today’s scripture readings in your missalette, it says: Jesus told his disciples that while he was in the world, he was the light of the world. It is up to us now to reflect the light of Christ to the world, to be beacons for others, to make the works of God visible. Then it asks: How do you reflect the light of Christ in the world? What more can you do to shine that light in the darkness around you?

So there are three works that we are called to do: first, to reflect the Light of Christ to the world.

You have heard me refer to the light I see upon all of you after you’ve received Holy Communion. Once, a man came up to me after Mass, he smiled and said that he couldn’t possibly have a halo because he was a sinner. I smiled back at him and said I was also a sinner. But the light I see shining in you after Communion is not so much your light but the Light of Jesus now dwelling within you. It is His Holiness that shines so brightly within us, and a light we’re meant to share with others. This is what it means to be a saint: sharing the Light of Jesus within us to others. As I’ve often said, Saints are sinners who kept on trying—not trying to sin, but trying to be more and more like Jesus.

There is a saying: “God hates sin but loves the sinner.” When we go back to the first original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I can see how the Devil scared Adam and Eve to the point of their hiding from God. I think the underlying theme of the Devil, the Father of Lies, was he convinced them that God not only hated sin, but also hated the sinner!

God knew this was the work of the Devil happening, so he called Adam and Eve into His presence and helped them discover the truth: God loves the sinner. God accepts us where we are—even with our sins. But He does not leave us there! Jesus calls us, as he did Peter, to get behind me and follow me. Jesus was not trying to be mean to Peter but offer him a way to grow in holiness.

So, it is today. Jesus calls every one of us to follow Him. It all begins with accepting ourselves as Jesus does: To accept that we’re not perfect, that we have our faults and sins, but we’re still loveable people—for the love of others begins with the love of oneself, which can be a challenge yet can be done with God’s grace.

That second question posed by the reflection for today said: to be beacons for others. This is another way of saying to share the Light of Christ. It reflects the opening line of the Prayer of Saint Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” This recognizes that Jesus calls us to be His hands and His heart for others, especially those seeking help from God. You never know whom God will send into your life today but trust you can help them experience the compassion and mercy of Jesus by your reaching out to them in their need.

This would also be a good time to think about when you were having troubles and asking God for help and strength. Who came and gave you hope and peace?

This brings us to that third reflection: to make the works of God visible. This reminds you that you’re a work of God, and part of that work is looking for God’s presence and power in the people and things around us. This includes other people, especially those who have rejected themselves and can’t face God out of fear and shame. In their minds and hearts, the Devil has planted his seed—a seed of lies—so that person doesn’t turn to God and His love and strength but turns away and becomes like the lost sheep Jesus spoke about. It’s through your outreach to such a person that the Good Shepherd works through you—to call and bring them back into the flock to find renewed love and peace.

As I stand here and look out at all of you, I imagine our churches having a spiritual inventory of all our people. When you register in our parish, you fill out a form that gives information about you in terms of where you live, your age, any special needs, etc.

But wouldn’t it be nice if we had an inventory listing every parishioner and what gifts of God they manifest? That would be a way for our parish and our people to bring God’s holiness from being out there above and beyond us to something right here in our midst. Then, whenever particular issues or needs came up in the parish and our parishioners’ lives, we would have a referral list for someone who may have certain gifts of the Holy Spirit to help a particular person or event.

The end of the reflection has two questions:

How do you reflect the light of Christ in the world?

What more can you do to shine that light in the darkness around you?

We may not have the answers to these questions, but someone else could give the answer. Think about the members of your family. It’s so easy to find fault within our family. But what about their reflection of the Light of Christ to others? What if we shared how we see the Light of Christ in them and through them?

Sometimes in Confession, I will ask the person after they’ve told their sins to tell me how do they see the gift of the Holy Spirit working in their lives? How are they the Light of Christ shining in the darkness around them?

It may take a few moments for them to answer, but they tell me how much they appreciate the question because it helps them see Jesus’ presence more in their lives.

In closing, I would like to quote the entrance antiphon from today’s Mass, quoting Jeremiah, Chapter 29, that would have been recited if we had no opening hymn. It says:

The Lord said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You will call upon me, and I will answer you, and I will lead back your captives from every place.

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Homily for November 10, 2024, 32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

“Do this and the Lord, the God of Israel, will not let your jug of oil run dry or your jar of flour go empty . . .”

Today, we’re introduced to Elijah, the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead. The name “Elijah means “Yahweh is my God.” We know he is a prophet from his introduction to King Ahab, who had become king of Israel, when he says, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve.”

Elijah has come to inform King Ahab there will be a severe drought upon the land of Israel. As we know, that drought lasted three years bringing about a great famine. This drought was brought about because King Ahab offended God more than any other king to this point. He angered God because he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon—a pagan country that worshiped Baal. Ahab then turned from God, instead worshiped Baal and even erected an altar to Baal in the temple of Baal which he built in Samaria.

The Lord then commanded Elijah to travel east and to hide in the Wadi Cherith east of Jordan. There, He would take care of Elijah, commanding ravens to bring him food each morning and evening, and close by was a stream where he could get water. After a while, however, even the stream dried up due to the drought. And that’s where our story begins today as God instructs Elijah to travel to Zarephath in Sidon where God has designated a widow to provide for him.

Now here is where our story gets interesting. God was sending Elijah into the very pagan country that he spoke against and to Ahab,  who’d completely converted to paganism through Jezebel. Not only that, but God would send Elijah to a widow.

This widow would have no means of support due to the loss of her husband, and most widows from the culture of the time were relegated to begging for support because women didn’t work or have careers. They were homemakers, while the husbands provided for the needs of the family. Not only was she a widow, but she also had a son to care for, making survival even more difficult. However, as we heard, the widow obliged Elijah, and God provided for her and her son for the next year.

Now we must look between the lines of the scripture to really see the true point of God’s wisdom. God provided for Elijah, the widow, and her son, but not by providing gallons of oil or even pounds of flour. God provided each day with what they would need. God knows excess can lead to waste, and when having only what we need, it’s utilized to the best use. The other point is that it led to a trust in God. He provided for the widow, a pagan, who—in experiencing God’s power, compassion, and mercy—became a convert. This all came about because of the sacrifice the widow made in the very beginning. Remember, she only had enough flour and oil to make a cake for herself and her son, but obeyed Elijah’s request to make a cake for him first. “Do this,” Elijah says, “and the Lord, the God of Israel, will not let your jug of oil run dry or your jar of flour go empty until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.”

A Teachable Moment

The widow of Zarephath mirrors today’s Gospel reading through the poor widow who gives from her need when contributing to the treasury.

Not much has changed culturally regarding a widow’s social status from the centuries before in our Gospel reading. Unless a widow has sons old enough to care for her, she is forced to beg and scrounge what she could for herself and her children.

Jesus uses this as a teachable moment for his disciples.

Just like the widow with Elijah, this widow doesn’t lose faith in God, but strengthened knowing God will provide for her. This is why Jesus calls his disciples to him, so they can learn from this widow what faith, trust, and sacrifice truly mean. Jesus commends the widow on her genuine faith, generosity, and sacrifice.

It’s important to point out that Jesus isn’t speaking out against the rich. Rather, He condemns those taking advantage of the destitute for their own gain. Instead, those blessed by wealth should become good stewards of their lesser brothers and sisters.

Reference last week, when we heard “the Shema” that Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy as the greatest commandment: “The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This commandment puts God first above everything and trusting that God will provide. These widows made sacrifices for love of neighbor and trusted in God, and therefore their faith was rewarded.

That’s what we hear today in the Letter to the Hebrews. Jesus is the true high priest, whose sacrifice puts an end to the repeated sacrifices made by the previous high priests of Judaism. No longer would sacrifices have to be made each year for humanity. The total sacrifice of Jesus Christ, both fully human and divine son of God, heals human sin once and for all. Jesus gave from his very want, his life. He gave the ultimate sacrifice because He had faith and trusted in God.

And He didn’t come to us in the form of a king but came to us in the flesh. As Phil 2: 6-11 says, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

At some point, we will face droughts and famines in our lives. In whom will we place our trust?

Homily for November 3, 2024, 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune     

For the Love of God

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is a wonderful moment of mutual agreement in today’s gospel.

A scribe asks Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus gives his reply, and the scribe gives his approval: “Well said, teacher.”

At that moment, there’s a great meeting of the minds between the best of the Jewish and Christian traditions—the love of God is more important than all the rules and regulations laid out in the Torah.

This love of God requires the giving of our entire self, and when it is given, the love of neighbor becomes the necessary, visible result for our love of God.

The love of God is authentic when it’s made visible via the love of neighbor, for God comes to us most clearly in the presence of our sisters and brothers.

In today’s reading from Deuteronomy, Moses has gathered the Israelites on the banks of the Jordan. The people are about to take possession of the Promised Land, but Moses won’t go with them; he will die before they cross the river. As he gives his final address, Moses reminds the people that they have only one God and to love Him with all their being.  Moses calls the people to such a love of God because they’ve been chosen by God. For forty years, they wandered the desert and came to know their god as a God of love. Moses asks them to respond from their “heart, soul, and strength,” already transformed by His love.

That’s in our first reading, and the message is clear.

However, once the people were settled and freed from slavery, they became complacent. In presenting Moses’ guiding words, the Book of Deuteronomy calls the people to turn from self-reliance and turn back to God, who liberated them. When the Jewish nation collapses as a result of their actions, the exiles will look back on their foolishness, stop relying on political and military power, and again rely on God, their Creator and Sustainer. Perhaps the defeated, humbled exiles will hear the echo of Moses’ ancient advice and realize a rebirth, returning to God and loving Him with “all their heart…soul and…strength.”

Moses’ admonition may find each of us in different places in our lives.

For those trying to be faithful, today is a chance to reaffirm our decision to serve God and be nourished at this Eucharist so we may continue to be faithful servants.

Others—aware of their self-reliant, independent spirits—may be reminded that their primary loyalty and dependence is upon God—all else is secondary and easily taken away.

Finally, there may be some in the congregation who, like the exiles, have seen their world collapse and need to be renewed in hope. They hear Moses’ reminder that we’re called to love God totally because that’s what God has done for us first—loved us with His entire heart, soul, and strength. Such a God will come to help the broken and displaced because that’s just God’s nature.

Like Moses, Jesus calls us to love God with our entire being because his life and death are a manifestation of God’s love for each of us.

Jesus reminds us God is the central, abiding presence in our lives by quoting the “Shema,” Israel’s great prayer of affirmation of faith in and love for God. One imagines the words from Deuteronomy come quickly to Jesus’ lips because, as a devout Jew, he would’ve said this prayer each morning and evening: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!”

Thus, Jesus speaks the spirit of the Torah, his response to the scribe draws on Deuteronomy, testifying that the love of God must be our primary desire and goal.

For the Love of Neighbor

The second commandment, that comes from Leviticus, assumes people love themselves; that they’ll protect, care for, and tend to their own concerns. Jesus’ challenge is that we show that same love to others. The transformation caused by God’s love is so profound that it flows from us toward Him and expressed in love of neighbor.

How do we do this?

By respecting God’s image within others just as you’d wish others would respect and revere the image of God in which you were created. When we can say, “I’m only doing what I would want another person to do for me if I were in his or her situation” then we’re also loving God with our whole heart, mind, and soul and our neighbor as ourselves.

People used to ask St. Teresa of Calcutta why she cared for the poor, dying on the streets?

Her response: “How can you love God and not care for his image?”

God doesn’t expect us to leave our families and go to Calcutta, but He does expect us to revere His presence in others. God doesn’t want us bogged down in a quagmire of laws, either. So today, as we prepare to receive the Body of Christ, let’s ask God for the grace to be able to truly love Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul and those He created in His image.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

October 2024

Homily For October 27, 2024, 30^TH Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

 We read in today’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 126: The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. Notice that is in the past tense…the Lord has done great things for us.

When I first read this, my mind changed it from the past tense to the present tense, which would then read: The Lord is doing great things for us.

Or one could even adjust it to say: The Lord has done and is doing great things for us!

The reason I suggest this change from past to present is that if we consider the Lord working at present to do great things for us, we are called to share in this working of the Lord—not like people standing by as a parade goes by them…mere observers.

In the parade example, now think about the observers becoming part of the parade and getting on some of the floats or marching with the band and playing a musical instrument. The idea is to be a part of the action and not just an observer.

This reminds me of Our Parish Mission Statement, printed on the front of our bulletin at the bottom that reads:

We are a Catholic community of faith united in our love for Jesus Christ. We strive to maintain and carry the message of hope and salvation to others through our works of evangelization and examples of Sacramental Life.

 Beneath this is our Vision Statement that reads: We will promote a stable parish with a vibrant, spiritually nourishing, learning environment to grow ourselves and others as disciples of Christ.

Both our Parish Mission and Vision Statements reflect what God’s Word is saying to us today.

The reading from Jeremiah is full of hope and joy as God proclaims:

Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return in an immense throng.

As the reading continues, this statement is especially reflective of God’s mercy and love: They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a Father to Israel, Ephraim is my first born.

As we hear this message of God speaking to His people, it’s important to put yourself into the picture. In other words, realize God is speaking to you by name, and saying whatever tribulations or trials you are facing—whatever may bring you to tears and fill you with a sense of despair—the Lord is watching over you, coming into your world and your heart.

As I have often quoted from a priest I once heard preach: God knows what it is like to be in your skin. He knows you better than anyone else because He created you, and there is nothing within you that is hidden from Him.

This is why He can be so full of love and mercy and compassion for you. Even though we are sinners and do sinful deeds, the Lord not only judges our actions, but he also sees what inside of us brought us to that action. God sees what we do—and more importantly—why we do it.

The last verse of today’s Responsorial Psalm says it perfectly: Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.

The definition of “sheave” is “a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.” It’s a way of showing God’s power to His people when rescuing them from their enemies.

We also see God’s power at work in the Gospel when Jesus heals a man born blind. After the blind man comes to Jesus, Jesus says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Let’s stay with that scene and—again, putting yourself in the picture—imagine you’re standing before Jesus, not blind, but having strong anxiety, worry, and even fear. Now listen as Jesus calls you by name, and then says to you, starting with your name, and then saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”

I think it’s important to dwell on that scene and see what answer you would give to Jesus. Of course, knowing how well He knows you—knows what it’s like to be in your skin—He could answer for you. He could name all the sufferings you’re facing, and afterward, He would say to you what He said to the blind man after He healed him: “Go your way, your faith has saved you.”

Thus, when you receive Jesus today in Holy Communion, don’t be afraid. Just place yourself in His open arms and hear Him call your name and say, “Go your way, your faith has saved you.”

 But then, hear Him also say something more: “Do not be afraid, for I will be at your side. Trust in me always.”

I close with the opening prayer from today’s Mass:

Almighty, ever-living God,
increase our faith, hope, and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what you promise.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Amen

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Homily for October 20, 2024, 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

 This weekend, I’ll talk about some important issues we’re going to face in the next couple weeks. To be exact, it will be two weeks from this coming Tuesday. Yes, I’m stepping out on a limb to talk about the upcoming presidential election and specifically about the New York State (NYS) Equal Right Amendment (ERA).

Jesus Did Not Come to be Served, But to Serve, And That Is the Key to Greatness.

In trying to connect our scriptures to the pertinent upcoming election and issues, two things come to mind: servitude and free will.

Our first reading today comes from Isaiah’s figure of the suffering servant, which is Isaiah’s most extensive description of the servant’s suffering and its purpose. Considering our gospel, Christianity sees this as referring to Jesus as the suffering servant, and the will of God be accomplished through him. It’s God’s plan that the servant’s death should be an offering to bear the guilt and justify many to make them righteous. It was Jesus’ will to do the Father’s will.

Our second reading from Hebrews tells us Jesus is the high priest who came to make atonement once and for all. What makes Him perfect is that he does not elevate himself above us but remains connected to humanity and tested in every way that we have or will ever be tested. Yet, He never sinned. Therefore, he became the perfect sacrificial atonement for our sinfulness. He is our compassionate high priest in whom we have placed our hope.

One of the significant points of today’s gospel emphasizes the disciples’ failure to hear Jesus’ message, albeit explained time and time again. For the third time, Jesus tells his disciples of his forthcoming arrest, persecution, and crucifixion. But they seemingly overlook all this, instead focusing only on Jesus’ glorious reign as the Messiah, with themselves holding key positions at his left and right. They’re only thinking of their own agendas to benefit themselves. Instead, Jesus calls his disciples to service rather than glory, and serving may mean their own suffering. Holding places of authority does not equate to true power. Rather, by imitating Christ, they must aspire to greatness through service to others.

These two points of service and free will are what we as Christians should call to mind over these next two weeks as we contemplate the upcoming elections and any amendments coming up for a vote. We should ask ourselves what is the will of the candidates who are running for the presidency? How will this serve the people of this country and the world?

Where do we turn as Catholic Christians? We turn to the Church.

There’s no doubt this upcoming election has spurred much controversy, and many may be confused, with our heads may be spinning about what and who to believe regarding upcoming issues. There are multiple media outlets available to us, but which of these isn’t pushing for a particular party, platform, or candidate? That is why you must research and find an unbiased resource that gives details from both sides without personal opinion.

As a Church and clergy, we’re not to tell you, the people, for whom you should vote. The intention of the Church is to help Catholics form their consciences according to the truth. Therefore, as responsible Catholics, we should access all available resources to help make informed choices with our faith at the forefront of all important decisions when it comes to electing officials at both the national and state levels.

Amendments, on the other hand, are addressed differently. The Church may advocate or oppose a specific bill or amendment based on the morality, religious liberties, human rights issues, and doctrinal and precepts of the Church. In doing so, the Church doesn’t align with any political party, candidate for public office, or the platform of a particular party. Rather, the Church dutifully provides information regarding the Catholic teachings on whether advocating or opposing an issue.

In the September and October issues of the Catholic Courier, Bishop Matano writes in the “From the Bishop” column about “forming our consciences for political responsibility.” This month, he writes about the NYS ERA proposition that will intrude upon the rights of parents. I highly encourage everyone to read Bishop Matano’s article. It’s very informative and enlightens us with insights into what is not being said in the ERA Amendment (Proposal 1) and forming our consciences with regard to which candidate most exemplifies our Catholic beliefs—and for that matter, Christian beliefs. Bishop Matano references the Beatitudes in discerning a candidate.

In this month’s article, Bishop Matano quotes St. Augustine saying that, “tension has existed from the time Jesus was confronted by Pilate.” That same tension exists between what St. Augustine called the “City of God” and the “City of Man.”

Bishop Matano goes on to quote from St. Augustine, The City of God, he writes:

“One sort (persisted) in that Good which is common to all – which for them is God himself – and in eternity, truth, and love, while others were delighted rather with their own power, as though they themselves were their own Good. Thus, they have fallen away from that Supreme Good which is common to all, which bring felicity, and they have devoted themselves to their own ends.”

Isn’t this what Jesus is telling the disciples and us today in the Gospel? That real leaders come to serve the people—not for their own good—but for the good of others.

The NYS Catholic Conference rightly labels this proposal as “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” as the amendment is touted as an “equal rights.” Further, because of the lengthy language in the proposal, ordinary citizens would rarely take the time to read it all, in hopes its title would influence people to approve it.

The ERA proposal that we as NYS residents will be voting on has two very important concerns regarding our rights:

• First, it would enshrine a fundamental right to abortion on demand in the NYS constitution, making it nearly impossible to enact any pro-life laws.
• Second, the language would bar discrimination based on either age, gender identity, or gender expression and could open the door to a judicial interpretation barring parents from having any say in medical interventions of their minor children.

These next two weeks, I encourage all to read these articles from Bishop Matano and conduct your own examination of conscience to help you make the proper informed decision. And please vote! Our faith makes “it morally obligatory to exercise the right to vote.” (CCC 2240)

God gave us all free will in hopes that we will do His will to uphold the teachings of the Church. Jesus was the perfect example of that.

In this month of the Rosary, let us also turn to Our Blessed Mother Mary, who accepted God’s will, for her intercession for our country and the world. Amen.

Homily For October 13, 2024, 28^TH Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

In today’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 90, we hear the words: Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy! This psalm is titled: A Prayer of Moses. If you read all the verses, Moses makes reference to the sufferings of God’s people:

“Truly we are consumed by your anger, filled with terror by your wrath. You have kept our faults before you, our hidden sins in the light of your face. Our life ebbs away under your wrath, our years end like a sigh.”

Moses is referring to those times in the history of Israel when its people suffered persecution and violent attacks. He writes: “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; most of them are toil and sorrow; they pass quickly, and we are gone. Who comprehends the strength of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.”

Wrath and fear. These were the experiences of the Israelites in terms of their relationship with God. It reflects the times when the people of God disobeyed His laws and turned to false gods and idol worship. The Bible says this made God angry with his people to the point that he let them face the consequences of the sinful choices…the wrath they experienced was not a wrath of a God full of hate for his people in their greats sins, but the wrath they attributed to God was really the destructive nature of sin which wounds the soul. God knows of this spiritual woundedness, so he tries to warn his people through the prophets like Moses to turn away from sin and be faithful to God.

Moses refers to the mercy of God in the verses that follow: “Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Relent, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Fill us at daybreak with your mercy, that all our days we may sing for joy. Moses again stresses this mercy of God in the verses that follow: “Make us glad for the days you humbled us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. Show your deeds to your servants, your glory to their children.

So here at the end of Psalm 90, we are becoming a people of God’s favor. Even in those times of suffering and persecution, God’s people recognize God’s faithfulness to his people. Their sufferings are not an indication of God rejecting them but letting them see what their free will choices have brought them. God does not stop the suffering because he respects their free will…even though it was a bad choice.

But God’s is ever ready to show His mercy and love and reconcile with his people who experience a change of heart and recognize their sins. In the words of Psalm 90, the people of God say to God: May the favor of the Lord be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!

In today’s Gospel, we hear of the story of the rich man who comes to Jesus and asks: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” After his encounter with Jesus, the rich man goes away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus had asked him to, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor; then come, follow me.”

Jesus was not trying to make the rich man homeless and totally rejecting all his loved ones. Rather, in the cultural world of Jesus, according to one scripture scholar I like, John Pilch, who writes: “Jesus’ familiar advice, however, needs to be distanced from the economic interpretation westerners usually attribute to it.”

Go sell what you have means to part with the most precious of all possessions in the Mediterranean world: family, home, and land. It is not primarily cashing in one’s stock portfolio, emptying the bank account, and disposing of other similar western treasures.

So Jesus is not asking the impossible—he offers the rich man a new way of life following Jesus as a disciple and benefiting from the advantages of the blessings God bestows on those who become poor for His sake, and God provides for them in their new status as followers.

I close with the Opening Prayer of today’s Mass:

May your grace, o Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Homily for October 6, 2024, 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

Note: Deacon Dave prepared two homilies for this weekend; both are posted here.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What God Has Joined, Let No Man Separate

I’ve been a deacon for almost 20 years. For most of those years, I’ve had the privilege of helping couples prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage. I often ask the couple to tell me why they want to get married in the church. The most common response, at least from the bride-to-be, is that she has always dreamed about walking down the aisle of a church. Very rarely do they tell me that they want God to be a central part of their marriage. Our readings today, especially our Gospel, invites us to reflect upon the mystery of the Sacrament of Marriage, and what role God should play in that marriage.

In the Book of Genesis, we hear the words, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Gen 2:18). This divine declaration underscores the importance of companionship and mutual support. God created Eve as a partner for Adam—not to serve him but to share in the fullness of life together. The unity between Adam and Eve is so profound that they become “one flesh.” (Gen 2:24). This unity is not merely physical but deeply spiritual and emotional. It’s a bond that God Himself establishes.

Jesus reaffirms this sacred bond in Mark’s Gospel, quoting Genesis, “‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (Mark 10:7–9).

Thus, Christ appeals to the divine institution of marriage to point out that marriage is the strongest human bond that transforms two people into “one flesh.” Moreover, Jesus affirms it is God Himself who joins a couple in marriage.

Joined

The Greek word used for “joined together” literally means yoked together. To understand the nature of the marital bond better, let’s consider the image of the yoke—a wooden bar used to connect two oxen or other draft animals that allows them to work together in pulling a plow or cart.

Just as a yoke is custom-made to fit each pair of oxen so, too, is marriage uniquely suited to each couple. The yoke ensures both oxen pull equally and support each other. If one ox falls or becomes tired, the other helps carry the load or lift the fallen one. Similarly in marriage, spouses are called to support and lift each other through life’s challenges. When one partner is weak, the other must provide strength; when one stumbles, the other should offer a hand.

Trish and I have lifted each other up many times during our married life. When Trish was battling cancer, I tried to lift her up and support her. When I suffered a stroke a year ago, Trish was always at my side, holding me up and refusing to let me fall. That is part of what it means to be together for both the good times and the bad.

In our contemporary society, we might sometimes forget the primary purpose of marriage isn’t just companionship but holiness. I often remind couples that their primary job in their marriage is to help their partner get to heaven. Marriage is a vocation—a call to grow in sanctity—and to support each other on the journey to eternal life. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin.” (2:11) Marriage is not merely a human arrangement but a sacrament that consecrates the couple and unites them in their common origin in Jesus Christ.

Marriage, like the yoke, demands a commitment to work together in both joy and hardship. It requires spouses to willingly bear each other’s burdens and share each other’s joys. The physical and spiritual life can be tiring, but each must wait for the other.

Selfishness Breaks the Yoke

If one spouse leaves the other behind, there will inevitably be a fracture in the bond. What was “I, me, and mine” through marriage becomes “we, us, and ours.” When spouses forget they are yoked as one flesh, they fail to realize what benefits one will likewise benefit the other. And what will harm one will harm the other in return.

The sacramental nature of marriage transforms the natural bond between husband and wife into something divine. By Christ’s own sacrifice and His union with the Church, He models the perfect love spouses should emulate. Just as Christ gave Himself entirely for the Church, so are spouses called to a self-giving, sacrificial love. The rings exchanged during the marriage ceremony are the external sign of being yoked together through their internal giving and receiving of the sacred vows.

The couple’s confidence in Christ’s loving presence in their marriage allows the psalmist’s response to be the couple’s daily petition, “May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.” This blessing isn’t just for individual happiness but for the flourishing of the family and the broader community. When couples live out their marriage in faithfulness, they become witnesses of God’s love and grace.

Just as the Sacrament of Marriage bonds a couple in love and faithfulness, each Christian is called to walk side by side with Christ—supported by Him in our vocation—and disposed to receive the grace to grow in holiness each day. The challenges and burdens of life are easier to bear when we’re united in Christ, pulling together in the yoke of love that He has blessed.

May we always strive to live out our vocations with the grace and strength that comes from God, knowing He has blessed us and will be with us all the days of our lives.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Homily for October 6, 2024,  27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time  

Homilist:  Deacon Dave LaFortune

 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God knit us in the womb. We are wonderfully made—every one of us.

This weekend, we mark Respect Life Sunday and the beginning of Respect Life Month. “

Defending the unborn at the beginning of life is just the beginning. If we want to call ourselves “pro-life,” we need to stand for all life, to give every life a chance.” That is what Deacon Greg Kandra wrote about Respect Life. My homily today draws heavily from the writings of Deacon Kandra, but I wonder: Do we understand what that really means?

We’ve heard that phrase, “Respect Life” so often. The fact is, we should not just “respect” life—it deserves so much more than that.

We should be in “awe” of life!

Honor it.

Give thanks to God for it.

Welcome it.

Embrace it—especially when it’s new, when it’s vulnerable, when it’s crying out to be held or changed.

Jesus shows us how in today’s Gospel: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

I recently came across a quote from Rabbi Abraham Heschel. This is what he  had to say about life: “Our goal, should be to live life in radical amazement … get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. Never treat life casually. Live with radical amazement.”

I argue that is part of what it means to “Respect Life.”   We should be continually amazed.

One of the psalms tells us: “Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. Wonderful are your works.”  How easily and often we forget that every one of us is wonderfully made! Everyone  is made in the image and likeness of God. Even the smallest, the weakest among us—especially the smallest and weakest.

Several years ago, speaking to a group of physicians, Pope Francis put it this way: “Every child who … is condemned unjustly to being aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord, who even before he was born, and then just after birth, experienced the world’s rejection.”

Think of what happens to Jesus every time an unborn child is tossed aside, discarded, snuffed out. It’s not a rare occurrence. By one count, in 2023, a new life ended in abortion 84,000 times in the United States alone.

In a world that increasingly wants us to make life disposable—expendable—we need to take this moment and say, “No, it isn’t!”

“God wants life.”

In 2012, following a trip to the Middle East, Pope Benedict reflected on the troubles afflicting that part of the world and spoke about the urgent need to protect and value life. It all begins, he said, with the ultimate affirmation of life, the Incarnation, when God became man. “It is because of Jesus,” he wrote, “that Christians are sensitive to the dignity of the human person. God wants life, not death.”

Defending the unborn at the beginning of life is where it begins. But that’s just the beginning. If we want to call ourselves “pro-life,” we need to stand for all life—to give every life a chance. That means protecting the life of the unborn., but it also means uplifting life long after.

That means supporting mothers in crisis, who feel they have nowhere to turn.

That means caring for the elderly and people at the end of life.

It means giving shelter to the refugee, standing up for the abused, battling bigotry and racism in every form.

It means helping to feed those who are hungry remembering there are many kinds of hunger in our world. Hunger for food, yes. But there are those who hunger for justice and peace. Those who hunger for dignity and self-respect. So many people simply hunger for love and need to be reminded that they’re loved by the God who willed them into being.

Standing for all of that is what it means to be “pro-life.”

Consider the reading today from Genesis. When we look into the eyes of another, no matter what their circumstances, we should see what the first man saw when God brought a new life to him: here is another one like me. Here is a life, unique and blessed, created by the One who created all. Confronted with this beautiful reality, we cannot help but feel “radical amazement.”

Because every life bears the thumbprints of the Creator. Every life is a miracle.

My friends, remember that this weekend. We should remember this every day of our lives and engrave it in our hearts. By God’s grace, every life is a miracle.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

September 2024

Homily for September 29, 2024, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

In today’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 19, the servant of God refers to the law of the Lord, the decree of the Lord, the fear of the Lord and the ordinances of the Lord. Then he prays, “Though your servant is careful of them, cleanse me from my unknown faults.”

He further adds, “From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant. Let it not rule over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of serious sin.” The psalmist makes reference to wanton sin. Webster’s dictionary defines “wanton” as “being without check or limitation; merciless and inhumane, causing sexual excitement.”

The phrase the psalmist used was ‘blameless and innocent.’ This is what the psalmist wanted to have within himself, so in spite of the various sins mentioned above, these would not lead the psalmist into sin. He seeks to be holy and righteous in the sight of God, pleasing to the Lord, or as he said, blameless and innocent.

But we must be careful not to assume that blameless and innocent means perfect! We may be tempted to think God wants us to be perfect, but that is not the case. If you recall the saying: God hates sin but loves the sinner.

If we go back to the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, the original sin, the Devil persuaded them to eat the forbidden fruit. Afterward, they discovered they were naked, and they ran and hid from God in the bushes.

But not only for that reason. I believe the Devil lied to them and said in so many words, God hates sin, and He hates the sinner. So the Devil probably lied to them and convinced them that when God discovered their sin, He would want to destroy them both.

Happily, God, knowing their fears and knowing exactly what lies the Devil told them, wanted to lead them into the truth of His love and mercy. And this is exactly what happened. Even though they were sent out of the garden as a consequence of their sin, God himself wove them clothes so they did not go out naked. And He watched over them after they left and did not abandon them in anger or hatred.

So even though they were not perfect, Adam and Eve were led by God to a life pleasing to Him.

In the Scripture readings today, reference is made to keep all the commands of God and His precepts. The Book of Numbers from the Old Testament makes reference to the Spirit of the Lord resting upon two so-called elders. They had not been with the other seventy but yet received the Spirit. They began to prophesy like the others, which concerned a man who spoke to Moses about it.

But Moses was pleased with this act of God, saying “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord would bestow his spirit on them all!”

In the letter of Saint James, he refers to the rich who have sinned by withholding from workers the wages due them and then some other abuses of luxury, causing the poor to suffer.

Then in the Gospel, Jesus makes reference to various sins and sinners. He even said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut if off…if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.”

We must be careful how we interpret these, because Jesus is not talking literally. In fact, to damage your body and do violence to it is sinful. So Jesus is not telling us to sin, but he is rather using that action to show how a person might see God judging them after they have removed these bodily parts in the name of God and for the sake of salvation.

These words of Jesus reflect the mindset of the cultural world of Jesus in which such violence would not have been considered evil. Rather, it might feed a person’s ego to thereafter show off the missing body parts as the sign of their holiness and pleasing to God. But at root of this is not so much to please God as to gain the approval and respect of others around them.

Rather than calling for violence to self, Jesus is saying for us all to put our bodies to the service of God as best we are able. Through our baptism, our bodies have become temples of the Holy Spirit, a dwelling place of the Lord. So, we are not to use them as tools for sinning and wrongdoing, but as the hands and heart of Jesus for others in need who cry out to God for help. This is where God uses you to be His answer to their prayer.

Remember that we are still sinners and not yet saints. Rather, we are saints in the making. This happens when we accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him—  just as Jesus rebuked Peter (who had earlier rebuked Jesus when He had foretold his coming passion, death and resurrection), saying, “Get behind me, satan.”

First off, as I’ve said before, Jesus was not calling Peter the Devil, otherwise He would have used the devil’s name, Lucifer. Rather, calling Peter “satan” was a way of telling Peter he was not thinking as God thinks, but as the world does. Following Jesus from behind would help Peter to grow more and more like Jesus.

And it worked! Peter became a saint…and the first pope…and a martyr. In fact, Peter was condemned to be crucified like Jesus. But Peter felt unworthy to die like Jesus, so he asked to be crucified upside down!

So even Peter was not perfect as one of the Apostles, but still Jesus led him from sinner to saint.

So, let’s take heart from God’s Holy Word today which spells out much of the horrors of sin, yet does not want us to despair. To use the phrase from the psalm, it echoes the prayer of the psalmist to be “blameless and innocent of serious sin.” Such is our hope: God is with us through His Holy Spirit to accept us as we are and where we are…but not to leave us there. Like Jesus with Peter, Jesus calls each of us by name, to “get behind me and follow me.” In my reflecting on this, I hear Jesus adding: “Trust me. I will turn you from a sinner into a saint.”

I now close with the opening prayer from today’s Mass:

O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasure of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

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 Homily got September 15, 2024, 24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time    

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

 Who Do You Say I Am?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus ask two questions. First, who do people say that I am?

And then Jesus asks—what I believe is the most important question—who do you say that I am? Jesus puts that question to his Apostles, and today, Jesus asks that question of us: Who do you say that I am?

Now, the Church teaches us that Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. As the Son of God, Jesus is fully divine. As the Son of Mary, Jesus is fully human.

Why did Jesus take on human form? Why did Jesus come to this earth and become one of us? Did Jesus do all this because His Daddy told him to? In some ways, yes! Jesus came to teach you and me how to love one another. Let me repeat that: Jesus came to teach you and me how to love one another. Jesus also came to teach us how to forgive one another. God the Father sent His only Son to this earth to teach us how to be the people whom God created us to be. God the Father loves each of us so much that He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for us, so we may have the opportunity to one day be with God for all eternity in Heaven.

In light of this brief summary of whom Jesus is, the question remains: What are we supposed to do with this information?

As The Body of Christ

The short answer:  we’re called to follow the example of how Jesus lived while He was on this earth. We discover how Jesus lived by reading Sacred Scripture—especially the Gospels. That’s one of the reasons we come to Mass. During the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the Scriptures proclaimed, and then Father Pat, Deacon Doug, or me tries to break open the scripture readings so we can learn once again how God has called us to live, to love, and to forgive.

My friends, we come to Mass to be fed by God’s Word, so we can be the people God calls us to be. If we’re open to hearing God’s Word, God gives us the grace to be God’s Word by the way we live our lives.

So, we’re fed by God’s Word during the Liturgy of the Word. Then, as the Mass progresses, we enter into the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where we’re fed by the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to point out some key moments during the Liturgy of the Eucharist highlighted by the ringing of the bells. There is a point during Mass when the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine and prays to God to send the Holy Spirit so the bread and wine will be changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. That’s when the altar server or deacon will ring the bells. The ringing of the bells is a wake-up call to what is happening on the altar. Jesus is now really and fully present on our altar. We hear the ringing of the bells twice more when the priest elevates first the body of Christ and then the blood of Christ.

My friends, do we really appreciate the gift we’re about to receive when we approach the table of the Lord to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ?

We’re being fed once again so we can be the people whom God has called us to be. When we hear the words “Body of Christ” and respond “Amen,” we’re proclaiming our belief that we are receiving the Body of Christ. Why is this important? It’s important because when we receive the Body of Christ, we’re given the grace to be the Body of Christ for one another and given the grace to follow the Jesus’ example by how we live our lives.

At the end of Mass, you’ll hear the deacon or priest say, “Our Mass is ended. Go proclaim the Gospel by the way you live your lives.” Or if I’m the deacon, you’ll hear me say, “Our Mass is ended. Let us go in peace to love and to serve our Lord.”

Thus, as we leave Mass, my friends, we’re challenged to be the Body of Christ to everyone that we meet.

To be the Body of Christ to the members of our family and those around us at work or in our community.

We are called to be the Hands of Christ. . .

To be the Eyes of Christ . . .

And to be the Voice of Christ.

Following the Example

How do we then follow Jesus?

We do this by following Christ’s example, and we do this by:

Loving one another.

Forgiving one another.

Feeding the hungry, by clothing the naked, taking care of the widows and the homeless.

Treating each other—especially those whom we may not like—with kindness, gentleness, dignity, and respect. We do this by treating people the way Jesus would with love and respect.

My friends, the question for today is the same question Jesus asks each of us in today’s Gospel: Who do you say that I am?

For me, Jesus is the example that I try to follow every day of my life. How do you answer the question, whom do you say that Jesus is?

My prayer for all of us is that we will come to know who Jesus is, and we will come to know and believe Jesus truly loves each of us just the way we are!

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Homily for September 8, 2024, 23^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

It’s not from the outside, but what comes from within that defiles.

These past few weeks, we read and tore apart the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, dealing with the “Bread of Life Discourse,” where Jesus exhorts his disciples to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to receive life. At the very least, this is difficult to comprehend and accept. It went against the rules of purification of the Jewish faithful, and anyone who didn’t follow these rules were considered outsiders—“unclean” and not to be associated with lest you become unclean yourself. As a result, many disciples stopped following Jesus and went back to their former ways of life.

This week, we resume the Gospel of Mark titled, “The Tradition of the Elders,” which deals with human tradition vs. God’s Laws. The scenario entails Jesus’ disciples eating their meals without washing their hands, i.e., purifying themselves before eating. Along with this law of purification, there were other traditions, such as purifying cups, kettles, jugs, and beds as we heard. A key clueing us in about these “applied” traditions came in verse 5 when the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus saying, “Why do your disciples not follow the traditions of the elders?” They didn’t say, “Why do you not follow God’s law?” Jesus references this when he quotes from Isaiah: “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”

One example of Catholic tradition would be blessing oneself upon entering church—be it for Mass or any other time. We do this as tradition—not because it’s God’s Law. Yes, we’re encouraged to bless ourselves calling to mind the Triune God, reminding us of our baptism when we were washed clean, and recalling the presence of God in our lives. This is a human tradition in the Catholic church, but if someone doesn’t bless themselves, we’re not excommunicating them.

Last week, Fr. Pat talked about the ritual during the Eucharistic liturgy where the priest washes his hands saying, “Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin.” In the Eucharistic liturgy, the washing of the priest’s hands—called the lavabo—represents a spiritual cleansing, signifying the priest’s desire for inner purity before handling the consecrated bread and wine, and expressing his unworthiness to offer the sacred sacrifice. It’s not just a washing of his hands but an interior cleansing of the priest that he may be purified.

Once again, it is not from the outside that defiles, but what comes from within.

 God Does Not Discriminate

We continue in Mark’s Gospel—this time dealing with the healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment. Up to this point, Jesus has healed and taught among his own people, but today he turns to a Gentile. Decapolis, where Jesus had traveled, was one of ten cities in the Gentile’s land. Whether through faith or desperation, the Gentiles had heard of Jesus and brought the deaf man to Him to be healed. Again, we see Jesus reach out to the destitute and oppressed, revealing that it’s not any external condition but the internal dispositions that defiles.

This healing was seen as double indemnity. First, this person was physically impaired when Jewish tradition at the time looked upon a person with physical disabilities as someone who was unclean with his handicap, thought to be a result of sin. Further, this man was not of their faith, and physical contact with a Gentile also violated the purification code.

However, Jesus acts on his own accord, considering people’s faith as more important than any external infirmity of the body. Looking heavenward, Jesus emphasizes the healing of the deaf man ultimately comes from God and also announces God’s salvation comes through Christ, beginning with the lowly of society.

Last week, James focused on putting the Gospels’ teachings into practice—i.e., be doers of the word and not just hearers—purifying ourselves by caring for the afflicted and vulnerable of the world.

Today, James tells us there is to be no partiality or discrimination with such practices as there is none with God. It doesn’t matter your social status, race, ethnicity, or religion—there are to be no distinctions among ourselves. We shouldn’t judge as that just instills evil intentions. Remember that God chose the poor in the world to be heirs and rich in faith.

Live your life in faith by following God’s ways and not human traditions. Jesus simplified it for us by telling us the two most important commandments to follow: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. When we apply this in our lives, we follow all God’s laws summarized in the ten commandments. The kingdom of God is manifested in and around the Eucharistic table where all of us are invited.

Homily For September 1, 2024, 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

Today’s Gospel tells of a Jewish practice of washing of hands. It was not just seen as a way of cleanliness, but a ritual practice based on what was given to them by the Jewish elders, whose teachings were intended to keep the Jews faithful to God’s law.

Since the years COVID came upon us, washing hands has also taken on a greater importance—a means to protecting oneself from any harmful germs and such. At one point, I read that the washing of hands should be for at least a minute or such. I can’t remember the exact time.

I have personally come to see my washing of my hands as a time of prayer. It is based on the prayer the priest says during mass…after he has offered the bread and the wine. He then goes to the side of the altar where a server holds a small bowl of water with a towel. Or in some cases, the server may even pour the water over the priest’s hands held over the bowl, and then taking the towel to dry his hands.

But the thing to notice is the prayer the priest prays during this washing of the hands. He says: Lord, wash away my iniquity and cleanse me of my sin.

Now I have taken that prayer, and whenever I am washing my hands, I say that prayer. But I also add more prayer based on some of the psalms. So, my prayer is:

Lord, wash away my iniquity, cleanse me of my sin. Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from you, nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit.

These verses actually come from Psalm 51…considered to be one of the seven penitential psalms in the book of Psalms in The Bible. Sometime in the bulletin, I will list the remaining numbers. It would probably be a good Lenten practice to have a book study based on the seven penitential psalms.

But the verses I have quoted to you as I wash my hands have made such a practice a wonderful means of grace for me. How many times a day do you wash your hands? I find the answer to that question very hard because it all depends on what day it may be and what sort of work I am doing that day and so on.

I even carry with me a small bottle of hand sanitizer…for when I may need such a washing of my hand when there are no faucets around. Even then I say my prayer.

The reason I like this prayer is because it helps me to consecrate my day to God. It brings God into my life so directly, which is a blessing because our daily lives can be so full of distractions and challenges to our peace of mind, heart, and soul.

It also helps if I am washing my hands in front of a mirror, because I look at my face while saying the prayer as if to remind myself to pray for that character looking at me, and sometimes I imagine Jesus standing by that image of me in the mirror, thus helping to sanctify my day by the reminder of what Jesus said in the Psalm 23 about The Good Shepherd and our going thru difficult times. He is referred to as this:

“Even though I walk through a dark valley, I fear no evil. For you are at my side, with your rod and staff that give me courage.”

If I see my reflection carefully, I might see that perhaps my face has a look of anxiety or fear. But as I stand after washing my hands with the prayer…while drying my hands I can see my face suddenly reflect peace, joy and hope. All because I listened to what God was saying to me in this simple gesture…washing my hands.

I don’t know just what the Jewish practice involves in washing the hands… I imagine there was some sort of praying. But the fundamental value I see in this act I do is that it helps me to cleanse me on the inside…so that my heart and soul are a part of this act. And I see it as a time for me to connect with God…to ask his help in turning me from a sinner into a saint!

Becoming a saint is all about washing…and what best helps us in this washing of the heart and soul is honest—being honest with God and with myself…and others.

Now when Jesus was addressing the scribes and the pharisees challenging the practices of Jesus’ disciple. Jesus called those religious leaders of his day hypocrites. The word ‘hypocrite’ actually translates into the word actor.

Now let me add here that if any of you ever were actors in a school play, or even as you watch actors perform, don’t assume they are hypocrites who are dishonest!

By Jesus using this term of hypocrite means that Jesus was calling those religious leaders to a cleansing of the inner selves…instead of just putting on a show, so to speak. And when we become honest with ourselves and God, one of the important things that happens is that we are more accepting of ourselves…even with all our faults. And when I accept myself, it helps me to accept others with their faults as well. And in this humility, I can become more loving toward others—just as Jesus is.

Remember that saying: God hates sin but loves the sinner. Now if we go way back in time to the garden of Eden and Adam and Eve—if you recall after they had sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, they tried to hide from God—out of fear.

The Devil, the father of lies, had probably planted seeds of doubt in their minds, so that they believed the Devil when he may have said, God hates sin, and hates the sinner. Satan probably convinced them God would never forgive and he would destroy them. So they were scared…and yet, God in his mercy saw that fear and led them into his peace and trust.

Yes, God loves and accepts us even with our sins…but the point is, he doesn’t leave us there. He calls us to follow him and learn to become more and more like Jesus…being his hands and heart to others in their sufferings.

So we hear in today’s gospel Jesus quoting the prophet Isaiah when he said, speaking for God: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

This takes me back to my prayer while washing my hands and quoting Psalm 51: “create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a steadfast spirit within me.”

Soon we will receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Let us trust that He will cleanse us and make us more and more like Him…

I’ll close with saying the closing prayer for today’s Mass. I normally say the opening prayer, but I think this one sums up our theme of today:

Renewed by this bread, from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you in our neighbor.

(Can I hear an amen?)

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August 2024

August 11, 2024, The 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Cannibals. They are cannibals.”

This was the accusation the Roman Empire made against Christians in the first three centuries based on the Christians’ own teaching that they ate flesh and drank blood—the Body and Blood of Christ.

Today’s Gospel reading ends with the Lord saying, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Next week, we’ll hear the Lord build on this by saying, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood you will not have life within you. . . . My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” Jesus even says, “The one who feeds on me will have life because of me.”

Upon hearing about this, the pagans claimed Christians were cannibals.

However, we know Jesus was speaking about a presence—not a physical presence—but a real presence. My favorite analogy: An adopted child might not be the physical child of his or her parents, but he or she is really their child. The Christians share in the real presence of the Lord but not the physical presence in the sense of bone, muscles, etc.

But the pagans didn’t know this. They did not understand what took place when Christians gathered for their “mysterious rites.” The pagans only heard Christians ate the Body of Christ and drank His Blood., so they accused Christians of cannibalism.

Obviously, we are not cannibals.

But we do eat the Body and drink the Blood of the Lord in a mysterious way.

The Great Mystery

From its earliest days, the Church has referred to the Eucharist as the Mystery of Faith—an expression of Christ’s death, resurrection, and second coming. In the Early Church, those inquiring about the faith were not introduced into the mysteries until the Church felt they were spiritually ready to accept the Eucharist. We have a touch of that remaining in those parishes that follow the full RCIA rituals and have catechumens leave Mass after the readings and not present for the Eucharist until they’re ready to join the community.

To understand Communion is to take a leap of faith into the mystery. We receive the real Body and Blood of the Lord. At Mass, the bread and wine are consecrated, not just blessed. They become Jesus in a mystical way beyond our understanding.

The Eucharist is infinitely more than a meal of fellowship. It is this, too, but far more. The Eucharist is infinitely greater than the union of the community with Christ as its head. It is this, too, but it is also far more than this.

When we receive Communion, we receive Jesus—Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. The bread and wine become the Lord and remain the Lord. The consecrated hosts are kept in our tabernacles for us to take to the sick and to pray before in adoration.

Our non-Catholic brothers and sisters don’t have tabernacles because they do not believe the bread and wine are transformed into the Lord’s Body and Blood. Nor do they have priests capable of doing this for their communities. Thus, their communion services are radically different than ours, and the reason a Catholic cannot leave the Catholic Church without leaving the Eucharist even if they join a faith with a “communion service.”

For a variety of reasons over the years, I had considered leaving the Roman Catholic Church and joining the Episcopalian Church. I never made that move primarily because of my belief in the Eucharist. I knew if I left the Catholic Church, I’d be leaving the Eucharist. I could not do that. I needed the real presence of Christ in my life. I believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

A People of Mystery Because We Believe

My friends, we Catholics are people of mystery. We don’t completely comprehend, but somehow, we are united with Christ in a mystical way every time we receive communion. To understand anything about the miracle and mystery of the Eucharist, our starting point must be Jesus.

Jesus is Divine, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the Eternal Son of the Father. When we eat His Body and drink His Blood—when we receive communion—He gives us who He is: Eternal Life.

Our Founding Fathers, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, etc., gave us liberty, but they were not liberty, per se.

Abraham Lincoln gave the slaves freedom, but he likewise was not freedom.

But Jesus gave the Bread of the Eternal Life because He is the Bread of Life. Jesus was not just a great man. Jesus is Divine—The Bread of Life, our Divine Sustenance. And we take Him into ourselves. When we receive the Eucharist, we are united to Him, to each other, and to the whole Body of Christ.

It’s no wonder those who wish to destroy the Church begin by attacking the Eucharist. In England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, France in the eighteenth century, Mexico in the twentieth century, and throughout the world in the twenty-first century wherever radical Islam rears its head, Christianity is attacked by attacking the Eucharist as well as those who can provide the Eucharist for others. Throughout history and continuing to the present day, priests are tortured and killed for saying Mass for the people who long for the Bread of Life.

One recent example: Bishop Oscar Romaro of El Salvador who was murdered as he celebrated Mass.

My friends, some try to convince us that Jesus was a wonderful man but only that—a man. When Jesus is equated at the same level as other great men of history, then the Eucharist has no meaning—only a quaint Catholic practice with no real significance.

The unbelieving murmur Catholics aren’t really receiving the Lord when they go to communion. Unfortunately, some Catholics are swayed by their arguments.

But our faith teaches us that every time Mass is celebrated, and every time we receive the Bread of Life, we enter into the Mystery of the Eucharist.

We receive the One who is the Bread of Life—this Jesus who unites Himself with us with His Body and Blood.

This is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Eternal Son of the Father, who humbled Himself to become one of us, to die for us, and then gave the gift of His Life and Death to us in the form of the Blessed Sacrament.

This is Jesus whom we will take into ourselves today when we receive communion.

The people of today’s Gospel reading murmured. They murmured because they were not open to faith.

We do not murmur. We proclaim because we believe.

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Homily for August 18, 2024, 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

Can We Handle the Truth of Our Faith?

In 1992, the movie A Few Good Men was released and boasts an all-star cast including Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, J. T. Walsh, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kiefer Sutherland. The plot follows the courts-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine, and the tribulations of their lawyers as they prepare a case geared at getting to the truth. During the trial, the Navy Judge Advocate General (a.k.a. JAG) lawyer, Lt. Kaffee (Tom Cruise), gets into a heated examination with the base commander, Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson), during which Lt. Kaffee vehemently states he wants the truth to which Col. Jessup retorts, “You can’t handle the truth!”

Made famous by this movie, this statement has become a popular expression. It comes to mind whenever I read the scriptures from Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel (especially verses 51 – 71) as Jesus gets to the core of this “Bread of Life Discourse” that begins at verse 22 when Jesus speaks to the crowds who have been following him since the multiplying the bread at Tiberias.

Now the crowds have followed Jesus to Capernaum, where he gets to the very truth of what it takes to receive eternal life, getting down to the nuts and bolts of the chapter and our faith.

But How Can This Be?

Since the last Sunday of July, we’ve read from John’s Gospel and will continue up until next week, the 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, before we return to Mark’s Gospel. This is critical to our faith and can even cause us to question, “How can this be?” Next week, you’ll hear the Jews say amongst themselves this is a difficult teaching—who can accept this?

Throughout these last four weeks, Jesus’s main theme is “Believe in the One He sent” or “Whoever believes has eternal life.” Today Jesus tells those gathered, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Another expression Jesus uses in these scriptures from John’s Chapter 6 is, “Amen amen, I say to you” before giving a profound truth. It is a Hebrew word meaning truth, or to verify or to say with certainty. In English, we interpret amen to mean, “Truly, I believe.” When we end a prayer, we acknowledge “truly, I believe.”

It’s also what our response is upon receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion. As the priest, deacon, or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion hold up the consecrated host, they proclaim to one ready to receive it, “Body of Christ,” to which our proper response is “Amen”—meaning we truly believe.

I feel compelled to take a moment to explain the proper way to receive the Sacred Body of Christ. It can be taken by hand or by mouth on the tongue. If received in the hand, the proper way is to hold up your hands with one under the other for the minister to place the host in your hand. Upon receiving the sacred Body, it is to be immediately eaten after acknowledging “Amen.” Fr. Pat or I don’t need to thanked after giving the Body of Christ. It wasn’t me or Father on the Cross—it was Jesus.

Another practice prior to receiving the Eucharist is to give a slight bow before approaching the minister, priest, or deacon. Now, I know the Church encourages us to move the Communion line along using additional Holy Communion ministers if there is a large gathering, but to bow before you’re in the presence of the Body of Christ to save time is not really proper, else you’re essentially bowing to the back of the person before you. Of course, you are allowed to kneel if you feel that is a way to show reverence to the Sacred Body of Christ. Bowing or kneeling is the proper acknowledgment of showing reverence to the One Who Was Sent. Such reverence is another way to express “Amen”—truly I believe!

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Also in Chapter 14:6 of John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Thus, through Him, we learn what absolute truth is. And if we believe in Him, we will obey Him and receive eternal life. Later in John’s Gospel (Chapter 19), we hear Jesus say to Pilate that he came into the world to testify to the truth. These verses from chapter 6 of John, I feel can also be called “the discourse of the truth.”

For Israel, wisdom comes from God and at times equated with divine teaching. Wisdom came to be understood as the way God acts in the world. Upon the time of Jesus, wisdom had become virtually interchangeable with God’s word.

Today’s first reading from the Book Wisdom talks about the preparation of the meal. Israel had a tradition of practical knowledge of how to live well, gathered from generations of shared experience, and reflection upon those experiences. Today’s scripture invites us to the table seeking wisdom. For the wisdom that is taught and received is the necessary source of life and truth. Feasting at the banquet table is the way to give up false ways, the sources that turn us away from God’s ways. To choose to come to the table of the Lord, one must leave behind unwise ways and be truly fed by God.

This Is My Body by Bishop Barron mentions in the first chapter about God’s plan for the heavenly banquet. Entitled “The Eucharist as a Sacred Meal,” Bishop Barron explains that God created humankind out of love and wants us to spend eternity with Him. However, through human weakness, sin entered the world, and since that time, God has wanted to reunite us and join Him in the heavenly banquet. So, from the Passover throughout OT history, there have been sacrificial meals right up into the New Testament, where Jesus becomes the ultimate sacrificial meal that all are called to share in.

As we look at society today, Paul’s words must ring in our ears, “Watch carefully how you live. Not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be ignorant but accept the truth, accept that we must eat of the flesh and drink of the blood of Christ given to us in the elements of bread and wine but none the less the true bread come down from heaven.”

Amen.

 

Homily for August 4, 2024, 18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

We read in St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: put on the new self. This may cause us to pause and wonder what that means…Who is this new self?

In the previous verses, St. Paul has already answered that question: “You should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Maybe we can better enter into the truth of these verses if we think about the last time you went to the store to buy some new clothes. You spend some time looking at what items of clothing are on display and ready for sale. A clerk may come over and help you. You may have family or friends with you, and they may make suggestions or help you find the right clothing.

In some cases, you need to try the new clothes on, so you go into a changing room. There, you take off your old clothes and put on the new ones. Then, you step out to look into a mirror and also get feedback from either the store clerk, family, or friends about the new clothes fit, how you look, and so on. Plus, there are your own thoughts and feelings about how the clothes fit and so on.

I mention this process because it reflects a similar process we go through in our spiritual lives. None of us are perfect, and so at times we are called by the Holy Spirit to look within ourselves and see what changes we may need to make—both “taking off” the old self and “putting on” the new self—like changing clothes.

We often associate this with Lent. Lent is a time of inner renewal, of looking at our inner selves, and examining our outer selves—those actions we do to others and how loving we are toward others. In Lent, we are encouraged to adopt actions that will help us be more like Jesus to others in our lives, especially the poor and the suffering.

We hear in our Responsorial Psalm 78 the refrain, “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.” This refers to those times mentioned in the Old Testament when the prophets would beg God to help His people by feeding them in their hunger and guiding them in their wanderings.

And now Jesus takes just five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds over 5,000 people in the desert and even had leftovers! The thing to be aware of was not only did the people want food for the body, but food for the soul—to hear the teaching of Jesus, whom many had come to believe was God’s gift to our world.

In last Sunday’s Gospel refrain we heard: “A great prophet has risen in our midst / God has visited his people.” This reflects both words and actions of God’s chosen ones who pray to God for help and hope.

This brings it to you and me. One way we put on the new self is to be the hands and heart of Jesus to others, which takes us to the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi whose first line is, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

We live in a world where we are daily bombarded by all sorts of ideas, actions, and challenges. These may especially create in us anger, fear, or even despair. It seems as if the lies of the Devil are indeed operating in the lives of so many around us as if to wonder if God has abandoned us; a lie which the Devil, the Father of Lies, would have us believe.

This concern is reflected in a number of the psalms. There are 150 psalms, and they all reflect every kind of feeling people can have, ranging from very positive thankful and peaceful to psalms of anger, rage, and even questioning the ways of God.

Here is an excerpt from such a psalm that reflects suffering, Psalm 43:

Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation.

Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.

You are God my stronghold.

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

Send me your light and your faithful care,

let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and my delight

I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

Put your hope in God. Perhaps this is the way we put on the new self, by becoming a person of hope, of trust in and love for our God, especially considering how Jesus put aside the glory of his Godhead to become one like us in all things but sin, so that He may free us from our sins through His passion and death and conquer death by His resurrection from the dead.

I often close my homilies with the opening prayer from Mass. But today, I would like us all to share in a prayer that should be a part of our daily lives—The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi, which happens to be in our missalette on page 383.

So, together let us pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled, as to console,

to be understood, as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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July 2024

Homily For July 28, 2024, 17^th Sunday In Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

We read in today’s Responsorial Psalm, Ps 145:

The eyes of all look hopefully to you, /
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand /
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways /
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon him, /
to all who call upon him in truth.

To me, this summarizes all our readings for today. Elisha the prophet shares food meant for him with some other people…one hundred of them! The little food meant for Elisha was small, yet it fed the crowd of 100—and with some food leftover! It fulfills that verse that read: “You give them their food in due season and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

In the Gospel, we see Jesus also living out these words from our psalm. The Gospel says that Jesus asked Philip, a disciple, where can we buy enough food for them to eat? The them refers to a large crowd who had gathered before them to hear Jesus.

The Gospel says Jesus asked this question to Philip, even though Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do. Jesus was testing Philip, thus showing us another of those teachable moments I like to say Jesus did with his disciples, to help them grow to become more and more like Jesus.

In all these stories of the people being fed by the prophet and by Jesus, it also reminds us of another verse from this psalm: “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, / to all who call upon him in truth.”

It is worth noting some verses in this psalm not read today, but worth noting: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to all, compassionate to every creature.” (PS 145: 8-9)

So we see how God’s goodness, manifested in Jesus, satisfies not only our hearts and souls, but even our bodies as we see Jesus feeding the multitude, and the prophet helping to feed the hungry as well.

Jesus is continuing to feed us especially through the gift of the Eucharist. Here, Jesus becomes the sacred food that fills our hearts and souls and minds, not only through the sacred word given us in our scripture readings, but above all in the gift of the Eucharist, in which we receive His Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Jesus enters our souls so that now we become living tabernacles, for as we leave here and go back out into our world, Jesus is ever present beside us, to help us grow to become more and more like him, as he uses those teachable moments of our mistakes and even sins to discover God’s power working through our weakness.

As the Lord said to Saint Paul, who prayed to be delivered from the thorn in the side:

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. (2 Cor 12)

We, too, can take comfort and hope in the Lord’s words to Paul. And in light of that, we can truly pray the words from our responsorial psalm:

Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, /
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom /
and speak of your might.

I close with the words of our Opening Prayer for this Mass:

O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us, and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that endure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Homily for July 21, 2024, 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deacon Dave LaFortune

Hello everyone. It’s so good to see you as we gather to celebrate the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Let us begin in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Heart of It All

At the heart of our Christians faith is the relationship we have with God through Jesus; the call to that special, innocent intimacy found between a child and parent; the very intimacy God longs to share.

The image I often have of that intimacy God desires with us: Imagine a young child running into the outstretched arms of a waiting grandparent. Imagine what that child feels when his/her grandparent’s arms wrap tightly around that child. That child feels safe, secure, and totally loved! Don’t we all want that feeling?

I fondly remember, many years ago, the times I went to pick up my daughters after they’d been on a field trip to Darian Lake Amusement Park. Standing there—waiting for the bus to park and the doors to open—when the children would spill out and rush to find their parent(s) in fits of joyful screams. After the hugs came the children’s excited chatter as they would share a minute-by-minute account of what they’d done, what they had seen, and who’d said what to whom.

Today’s Gospel captures that same intimacy, excitement, and innocent joy as Mark tells how “the Apostles rejoined Jesus and told Him all they had done and taught.” Such a joy-filled image, relaying everything they had seen and done while away from their rabbi, their Lord.

As I reflected on this scene, I found myself thinking about my relationship with our Lord. Doesn’t Jesus tell us those who are like children will enter the kingdom, who will find God, and who will approach Jesus? Was I allowing myself to approach Jesus with childlike innocence, excitement, and joy? Did I encourage this closeness to God with my children and grandchildren, building a prayerful life on this beautiful relationship?

Answers to all my questions: I know I can do better!

Back to the aforementioned Darien Lake day trips and the parent-child reunions: As all good parents will tell you, once the excitement slows down, there’s a need for calm. A chance to refocus their children, feed them, allow them time to draw a deep breath, and yes, finally rest. This is what the Lord sees in the Apostles: the need for some physical and spiritual refreshment to replenish what had been given on their journeys during their ministry to the people.

 The Need for Our Quiet Place with the Lord

It’s this image where we see the challenges so many of us live out daily.

Have you noticed there’s an expectation—a demand almost—in every minute of every day that we must be ‘busy’ by doing or contributing something and being productive? Images bombard us 24/7, emails set us toward the next task on our forever ‘to do’ list. Social media goads us into believing we’re not living as full a life as our 600+ so called ‘friends.’

From the moment our alarms go off in the morning we finally lie our heads on the pillow again, our day is mapped out with stuff! We’ve become addicted to being busy, and for those still working 9 to 5 and think things slow down when you finally retire, I have some really bad news for you: They don’t!

Even on days off, we’re bombarded with emails, texts, and all the other ways we feel compelled to communicate. All the while, trying to get our children or grandchildren to sporting events, after-school clubs, or their next social engagement.

When do we find time to head off to our ‘lonely place’ and simply sit in the presence of our Lord?

Jesus understands this as we’ve read today and knows what we really need, what our family really needs—moments of peace with the Lord in our quiet place.

Mark tells us that not only does Jesus understand our predicament, but He also looks on us and ‘takes pity on us’ because we are “like sheep without a shepherd,” searching for meaning but looking in all the wrong places.

In our frantic rushing and searching, Jesus remains our true peace, our chance to breath and put life’s chaos into perspective. As St Paul says, Jesus ‘is the peace between us’–the peace between Himself and us and between each member of our parish family.

The Catholic Church supports finding that quiet place to spend time with Jesus; in fact, every ordained priest and deacon is required to make an annual retreat for at least one week. This retreat provides an opportunity to get away from our normal routine that keeps us way too busy. It’s an opportunity to put the chaos into perspective and spend some quality time with our Lord.

In our Diocese, there are places where priests, deacons, and even lay people can go to “rest a while with God.” For example, there is the Trappist retreat center in Piffard, NY, and the Benedictine retreat center at Mount Savior Monastery in Pine City, NY. We’re also blessed to have the Notre Dame Retreat Center in Canandaigua, NY.

I’d like to leave you with this thought: Soon, we will come together at the Lord’s table and receive the Body of Christ and make our prayers of thanksgiving. Then, we’ll head back to the world.

As we journey through the week ahead, take a few moments each day to find that quiet place in your hearts—to find peace—and in that peace, allow yourself to be with Jesus as a child, getting off the bus after your day trip and running to greet Him, sharing all you’ve done and seen while embracing your inner child.

Because Jesus is waiting to receive His children with outstretched arms.

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Homily For Sunday, July 14, 2024, 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

What It Means to be a Disciple

We hear in today’s gospel acclamation: “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ / enlighten the eyes of our hearts, /that we may know what is the hope /that belongs to our call.”

Hope and call are words to keep in mind as we take time to listen to God as He speaks to us not only through the scripture readings we have heard, but also—and hopefully—through this homily based on these readings.

In our missalettes’ commentary at beginning of our readings, it says: “Though we are neither prophets nor apostles, we are called to be disciples by virtue of our baptism.”

Webster’s dictionary defines disciple as “a pupil or learner” in the Latin origin. Webster’s dictionary further defines apostle as “one who is sent.”

Before the Twelve were given the status of apostle, they were disciples of Jesus. This means He was their model and teacher, and He always used their mistakes or even sins as teachable moments.

At one point, after Jesus predicted his passion and death to his disciples, this happened:

Peter said, “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Notice it says Jesus said to his disciples—those who were still learning—not in some classroom but by being right there with Jesus, the teacher. Further, Jesus doesn’t tell Peter to get behind me to shame him or make him inferior. No, Jesus is inviting Peter to follow and to learn from him, so Peter will someday be an apostle (one sent on a mission) as the other eleven disciples would be.

Our Hope and Calling

Perhaps this is a good place for us to consider how the two words—namely hope and call—are a part of our lives.

As our gospel acclamation referred to “the hope that belongs to our call.”

 What is our call? It’s expressed perfectly in that passage when Jesus called Peter “Satan” (even if Peter wanted to save Jesus from his passion and death) and then told Peter to get behind and follow.

Our call is to follow Jesus. He is with us every day and all day. He, the Good Shepherd, is always beside us, even though we may not always feel His presence. Yet, we’re one of the sheep of his flock, and He loves all in his flock without exception. Even the lost sheep, He goes to find and bring them back and never rejects them.

So, each day we should ask Jesus for the grace to follow Him. We’re his disciples who still have things to learn, and He is our teacher.

As we go through each day, it would be highly favorable to ask Jesus to open our minds, hearts, and souls to His revelations and teachings. In this way, we’re faithful to our call as disciples to follow and learn from Jesus. We have hope because, despite of our weakness and sins, Jesus never abandons us or rejects us.

Then comes that time in our lives when we enter a new relationship with Jesus…as his apostles. By our baptism, we’ve been put on the path God intends us to take as we go forth and spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

How do we do this? Here I would like to refer to our parish’s mission statement found in our bulletin. If you have a copy of the bulletin, I invite you to read the bottom of the front cover:

We are a Catholic community of faith united in our love for Jesus Christ. We strive to maintain and carry the message of hope and salvation to others through works of evangelization and examples of sacramental life.

Then we have our vision statement there, too, which says: “We will promote a stable parish, with a vibrant, spiritually nourishing, learning environment to grow ourselves and others as disciples of Christ.”

So, we have a purpose—a call from God—to let the light of Jesus shine through our words and actions. We can do this through the grace of God, which we receive here in the Mass through God’s word and the word make flesh as the Bread of Life in Holy Communion.

As the first line of the Prayer of Saint Francis says, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

He does that by helping us to learn from him as we follow Jesus. He teaches us how to show mercy and love to others—beginning with ourselves. We can be our worst critics and not love ourselves. Yet, if it starts there, we can begin to love others. We’re not perfect, but that doesn’t mean we are not lovable.

God loves us because He sees the image of his son, Jesus, in us.

Jesus loves us because He sees us as God’s gift to this world.

When we’re faithful to our call, the day will come when we’re called from this world to Heaven. There, we’ll see Jesus at the gate of Heaven. He will see our lives and all we did to try to spread the Good News of His Kingdom. At some point, He may say, “In looking at all the love you tried to show others in my name, I see myself in you.”

 Then, turning and pointing a finger at the gate of Heaven opening, He will look at us, smile, and say, “Enter now into the joy of My Kingdom.”

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Homily for July 7, 2024, 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Pain of Rejection

I think you would agree rejection is always a painful experience and wounds to some extent—at least emotionally—and rejection can take many forms:

• Rejection because of one’s race, nationality, or religion
• Not taken seriously
• Not accepted or being left behind
• Children who don’t make the team, or teens not invited to their prom
• A broken marriage engagement
• And perhaps most painful: rejection due to estrangement between parents and their children.

Unfortunately, many also reject God.

God Doesn’t Give Up

 Rejecting God is the worst decision any person or group can make because rejecting God jeopardizes our future life and our eternal salvation.

In the passage from Ezekiel, God complains He has been rejected repeatedly by His Chosen People. The people have become stone-faced and obstinate of heart.

But God reveals He doesn’t give up. God keeps trying. He continues to reach out.

As their lives unfold, the people recognize Ezekiel as a true prophet who spoke for God! Further, they learn rejection leads to dire consequences. For rejecting God—and God’s commands—always brings about self-deterioration and ultimately destruction!

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is rejected by the very people who should have been most receptive to him. But they were envious of his growing fame and blind to their own faults. Like their ancestors, they, too, were obstinate of heart.

There will always be those who discredit others because of their own mediocrity. And so the villagers used ad hominem arguments against Jesus: “Just who does he think he is? He’s no better than the rest of us! How can he be anyone special? He’s only a carpenter. Where did he get his training as a rabbi? We know all his cousins. He’s just the son of Mary!”

We’re told Jesus was amazed by their lack of faith.

Obviously, the villagers had no real relationship with God. Otherwise, they would’ve been more open to Jesus and his message. Sadly, they missed so much of what Jesus could have done for them!

God’s Grace Is More Than Enough

In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul recognizes his weakness and imperfection. An angel of Satan has afflicted him in some way. Paul asked God to deliver him from this affliction, so he could minister more effectively.

But God refused. The affliction kept Paul humble. God’s grace would make powerful any weakness on Paul’s part.

So, Paul rejoiced in his weakness because God’s power gave him the strength to continue his work despite all the rejection and hardship Paul would face!

As I reflected on today’s readings and the theme of rejection, I thought about my earliest memories of being rejected. I was born with a speech impediment. When I was in grade school—especially in first and second grade—whenever I spoke, my classmates would laugh at me. This caused me to be very quiet in class.

Many years later after graduating from college, I joined the Carmelite Order to study for the priesthood. The year I was to profess my final vows and become ordained as a transitional deacon, I decided to leave the Carmelite Order, in part because I didn’t want to preach due to my speech impediment.

Look at me now, standing here preaching this homily! I finally came to believe God’s grace would overcome any weakness I had.

My friends, as members of a fallen, sinful human race, we will experience rejection. We’re not perfect. Those around us are not perfect.

But no matter our faults and sins, God doesn’t reject us and sends His grace. God always hopes we can be better than we are right now.

Consequently, we should use any human rejection in a positive way.

• What can we learn from what others say to or about us?
• Do we impede others by how we treat or say about them?
• Do we use ad hominem arguments to discredit the truth someone else speaks, or the good that they do?

As God’s children, we were created for some special work and unique purpose. Thus, as believers and disciples:

• May we never let rejection overpower us,
• May we trust always in the grace and the power of God,
• And may we always be faithful children of God and true sisters and brothers of Jesus—amen!

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

June 2024

Homily for June 23, 2024, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary  Time (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

They Called Him “Teacher.”

In today’s Gospel, we see a different side of Jesus—the Sleeping Jesus. Prior to this, Jesus has been very active, preaching to a large crowd of people. This is Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, with the first verses of this chapter saying:

“On another occasion, he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at great length in parables.”

 It said  Jesus only spoke in parables to the people, but  when finished, he spoke with his disciples but not in parables. The Gospel says: “Without parables he did not speak to them (the crowd), but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.”

Then, the Gospel goes on to say: “On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.”

That phrase “just as he was” raises some questions in my mind. What was Jesus like at that time? I find myself trying to picture Jesus just as he was.

Knowing how he would fall asleep when the disciples were on the boat with Jesus, and they were heading out to sea, I wonder if that phrase about Jesus just as he was may have indicated a Jesus tired from a very busy day—full of preaching and probably doing other acts of reaching out to the gathered crowd to help them. Perhaps he healed some of the sick or fed some of the hungry. Whatever his actions, Jesus gave his all, so it’s no wonder he falls asleep in the boat.

Picture yourself in that scene when the storm comes. The gospel says: “A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.”

 Imagine the waves rocking the boat, and one wonders how Jesus could sleep in all that commotion. It just goes to show how tired Jesus must have been!

But the disciples were overcome with fear. So, the Gospel says: “They woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing!’”

Notice they called him teacher and not Jesus, or Lord, or any other names we associate with Jesus. Considering all the teaching Jesus had been doing to the crowds in parables, it’s not surprising he would be called teacher.

The Storms of Our Lives

Perhaps it would be good to pause here and ask what storms in life are you facing? What is happening to you that might be causing fear and panic and being dragged down like you were drowning in all your problems? These are like a raging sea threatening to destroy the boat that takes you through life.

In other words, can you name your fears? Listen again to Responsorial Psalm 107:

They who sailed the sea in ships / trading on the deep waters, these saw the works of the lord / and his wonders in the abyss.

His command raised up a storm wind / which tosses its waves on high. They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths; / their hearts melted away in their plight.

They cried to the Lord in their distress; / from their straits, he rescued them, he hushed the storm to a gentle breeze; / and the billows of the sea were stilled.

They rejoiced that they were calmed, / and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness / and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.

 Keep in mind that phrase “from their straits he rescued them, he hushed the storm to a gentle breeze.” Jesus lives these words in how he stopped the storm for the disciples in the boat. The gospel says after they called out for him: “He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm.”

Now try to take this scene and apply it to your experience of life’s troubled times— disrupting your boat that takes you through life. Try to imagine Jesus by your side, looking at the storms of your life, and saying to those storms—“Quiet! Be still!”—and then suddenly, finding great calm in yourself.

“God knows what it’s like to be in your skin.”

Webster’s dictionary defines straits as “a narrow space or passage and also a situation of perplexity and distress.” So, the Gospel says Jesus saved his disciples in the boat from their distress.

Now, think of Jesus by your side rescuing you from your distress and feeling great calm. If you don’t feel any peace, don’t worry. God has a plan. Just place your trust in Him. As our responsorial psalm refrain today said: Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.

As you receive Jesus in Holy Communion today, offer him your thankfulness for that love he brings you. Don’t worry…you aren’t receiving a Sleeping Jesus, but one who is fully awake and fully aware of everything about you. As I heard a priest once say in his homily: “God knows what it’s like to be in your skin.”

So, place all those fears in his hands and trust in his help and love.

I end my homily with the opening prayer from Mass today:

Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your Holy Name, for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen,

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 Homily for June 16, 2024, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

 God’s Promise of Restoration.

We don’t hear much from the prophet Ezekiel; however, his contribution to the history of prophecy is unique. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was a priest, but what made him a standout among the other prophets was his unparallelled attention to the temple and the liturgy that eventually earned him the title of “the Father of Judaism.” Further, in 597 B.C., Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar along with many of his countrymen and became a prophet while in exile—the first to receive the call to prophecy outside the Holy Land.

For most prophets, delivering God’s message wasn’t an easy task, and Ezekiel was no exception. He foretold of the destruction of Jerusalem, which would be devastating news to the Jewish people. Ten years later in 587 B.C., the message he tried to prepare his compatriots for became vindicated when the Jewish temple was destroyed as he had predicted.

After the temple’s destruction, Ezekiel’s message changed. From this point on, his message was about the promise of salvation that would be brought about by a new covenant with God. Ezekiel gave his fellow exiles hope by believing that once God’s allotted time for the exile was accomplished, salvation would be granted, and Israel would be restored. The famous story of the animation of the dry bones in Ezekiel, Chapter 37, expresses Ezekiel’s firm belief in this forthcoming restoration.

Today’s reading from Chapter 17—titled “The Eagle and the Vine”— denotes God’s promise of restoring Israel. In this chapter, God speaks metaphorically of the eagle tearing off a mighty cedar’s topmost branch, from which new shoots will prosper; these new branches will become dwellings that provide shade and shelter. This metaphor for restoration is what God has promised to the Israeli people: restoring to them the land of their forefathers under the Davidic kingdom.

We Walk by Faith—Not Sight

Our reading today from Paul to the Corinthians also speaks of restoration upon the return of Christ. However, this restoration will require courage while we are home in the body—meaning our earthly life. For while we’re home in our bodies, we are away from the Lord.

It will take courage because we must walk by faith and not by sight. Faith will grow within us if we aspire to please God. We know not how it will grow, but we must live our lives through moral and ethical ways. It require courage today as it did in the days of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It may seem we’re living in uncertain times, but we, too, can draw strength by focusing on the promise of everlasting salvation of the kingdom of Heaven via the new and everlasting covenant in Christ.

In listening to God’s Word, we nurture the seed planted by God.

Mark saw Jesus’ public ministry as foretelling the coming reign of God into this world. In keeping with that focus, our gospel reading from Mark today recalls the first words Jesus speaks upon returning to Galilee after being baptized and spending 40 days in the desert.: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As we’re all familiar, Jesus used parables to describe God’s kingdom, utilizing images and real-life experiences to help people understand his teachings. Today, most of us are no strangers to Jesus’s parable of the mustard seed that symbolizes how the kingdom of God will grow in this world; starting out small, perhaps, but once sown, growing huge such that all who accept it will have a place to dwell.

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 14 begins the “Last Supper Discourses,” where Jesus begins by telling his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith in me also. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” This speaks of the vastness of the heavenly kingdom.

Remember that Christianity started with only twelve. They became the Sowers of the Word, which once planted, God will make grow. Today, our job as disciples is to also be Sowers of the Word. and allowing that seed to grow; for if it is never sown, there is nothing to grow.

As we heard from Ezekiel, many have fallen away or are in a sort of exile. So let’s given them hope of restoration. We’ll need to instill courage in them to return to the Lord and live ethical and moral lives, so that all may dwell in the vastness of the heavenly kingdom. When we do this, we can boldly proclaim the words of the Psalm: “Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

Homily for June 9, 2024, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

Hello, everyone. It’s so good to see you here today as we gather to celebrate the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

So let us begin in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Where did our resolutions go?

As the days lengthen and summer comes, it’s a good time to step back from our daily routine, at least for a short while, to look around and consider where we stand in the world—today, this week, through the year—and likewise take the time to consider how close we stand to God.

For many, the fresh ambitions that launched a re-energized faith for a new year—for a new life with Jesus—have quietly dissipated; so much so that we feel like that first man (Adam) in the Garden of Eden from our reading in Genesis today as God calls out, “Where are you?” The plans we had crafted so carefully in the depth of winter have been re-shaped beyond recognition as the challenges and distractions of this world have tossed our lives about through the changing seasons. Or maybe, it’s the routine and mundane that has, well, remained routine and mundane. Life carries on much as before.

As the months drift by, there may be times, perhaps more often than not, when we’re overwhelmed by the worries of the world and find our lives are less than joyful even in these summer days of sunshine and holidays.

True Joy

But, as Pope Francis tells us, we may not always be happy, as the challenges of life press on us, but we are always to be joyful.

But where does the joy come from?

My friends, joy is found in knowing that God loves us. Joy is also found through sharing in the life of Christ and sharing the Good News with others.

Celebrating ten years since publishing Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel, the letter that set his papal ministry’s priorities, Pope Francis once more calls us to proclaim the Gospel with joy. As Pope Francis says, the question isn’t what particular Good News we share, but whether we communicate that same news with joy. He further challenges us by noting, “Either we proclaim Jesus with joy, or we do not proclaim him.”

Let’s spend time being open to the Holy Spirit, who reveals the joy we already have in knowing how close we are to Jesus, who tell us in today’s Gospel: “Here are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and my sister and my mother.”

There is also the joy of knowing we’re always close to our heavenly Father for as St Paul tells us in his Second Letter to the Corinthians: “[W]e have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture… knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side …”

So don’t worry that life often moves quicker than we might like. Instead with joy and confidence, let’s strive ahead by sharing the Good News in word and deed, but knowing:

• God is always with us.
• We are filled with the Holy Spirit.
• We walk with Jesus as a brother or sister.
• And in the fullness of time, we’ll be by the side of our Heavenly Father forever.

Thus, in the busyness of the day or in those quiet moments when we hear God calling us, let’s answer with joy, “Father, I am here with the new man—your Son, Jesus—and filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ever ready to do your will.”

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Homily For June 2, 2024, Corpus Christi Sunday (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

The New Covenant

I happened to read the introduction to today’s readings in the missalette. It offers a bit of background I think that is important. So, in case you didn’t read it, I’ll share some of it with you now. (Here, I read the excerpt from the missalette.)

It makes reference to the blood of Jesus, termed as “the blood of the new and eternal covenant,” which binds us ever more closely in love, in service, and in life to the Lord.

Our responsorial Psalm 116 today reads: “How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”

Since the days of the COVID pandemic, Holy Communion under both forms of bread and wine was discontinued, with Communion given only under the one form of bread. We still don’t serve communion with the cup until our bishop lifts the ban, which was given to protect people from the disease.  Yet, we still receive the blood of Jesus in the consecrated host. The sacred host is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our lord Jesus Christ.

So even though we do not receive from the cup, in the words of our responsorial psalm, receiving communion under the one form of bread only, we still “take up the cup of salvation, and we call upon the name of the Lord.”

To invoke this sacred name is to call down the blessings of the Lord upon us. Just as in our baptism we became one with the Lord, so, too, in receiving holy communion we are one with the Lord.

Go Forth and Make Disciples of All the Nations.

This is Jesus’ gift to us that he made possible by his life, death and resurrection. When we are united with Jesus in Holy Communion and receive His Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity, we also share in the union of The Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus brings us into this intimate union so we may experience the power of God’s love for us—i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—coming into our souls and dwelling there so that we may find the wisdom, the love, and the strength to be disciples of the Lord; to go forth and make other people disciples of the Lord by spreading the gospel.

This same charge was given by Jesus to the apostles before His ascension into Heaven when he he told them, “Go forth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

This command from Jesus is not just a matter of word but also actions.

In Imitation of Christ

It reminds me of what Saint Francis told his friars whenever he sent them out to preach: “Preach the gospel at all times, but only use words when necessary.”

Saint Francis wasn’t saying words are not important, but he was saying people are drawn to us by what they see in our actions. Then—when we have their attention and interest based on our actions—they are open to hearing our words.

This is why I like the “Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi” because the first line is: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

As we prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let’s pray for the grace to be the hands and heart of Jesus. When people see our example of Jesus living in us through our imitation of Christ, we open a door for them to enter into a place where words will truly help them to have better union with Jesus—leading to a time when their union with Jesus will become their deeper communion with Jesus.

So let us join with the Church in giving thanks and praise to Jesus for this gift of His Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

As it said in our opening prayer of Mass today:

“O God, who in this wonderful sacrament have left us a memorial of your passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption. Who live and reign with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

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May 2024

Homily For May 26, 2024, The Most Holy Trinity (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

Truly, We Are Children of God

In our second reading from the New Testament, the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, we read: “You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”

Sometimes we hear the phrase “fear of the Lord.” Some people mistakenly think this translates as “afraid of the Lord.” But fear of the Lord is not a matter of being afraid of God but giving reverence to and love to our God as well as our obedience to God’s will.

As St. Paul said, we have received a spirit of adoption. It’s in this Gift of the Spirit that we cry to God, “Abba, Father!” This is a term of endearment, a term of trust, hope, and love.

We heard in today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 33: “Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield.”

Stop and think about what the words “help” and “shield” mean for you in your life, with all the challenges and problems you may be facing this day. Now, apply the words help and shield to any of your problems that you may be going back to when you leave Mass today.

It reminds me of those verses in Psalm 23, known as the Good Shepherd Psalm. Not only does it refer to green pastures and still waters—i.e., times of peace—but also acknowledges times of difficulty where it says: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff that comfort me.”

The “valley of the shadow of death” describes those times and circumstances where we feel like God is absent from us; when we can’t feel the presence of the Good Shepherd by our side with his rod and staff to comfort us. Many of the saints experienced such times to the point that it was referred to as the dark night of the soul.

During this period, the soul experiences a lack of peace and closeness to the Lord—a spiritual dryness. Whereas before the saint had strong feelings of faith and peace whenever he or she would pray—during this dark night, the good feelings that came with prayer are suddenly gone. This dark night of the soul is God bringing the soul to a stronger faith and deeper union with Him. It’s not a punishment but a growing process…growing in holiness.

There are times, continuing in the words of Psalm 23, when one is going through that valley of the shadow of death. The death refers to dying to self, living for the Lord, and doing His will. Though it might create a sense of one’s own weakness, at the same time, the soul experiences a growth in holiness through a stronger trust in placing our lives in the Lord’s hands.

Not Just Words

Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. In one of his talks about The Holy Trinity, Pope Francis said, “Today we can ask ourselves if our life reflects the God we believe in: do I, who profess faith in God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, truly believe that in order to live, I need others, I need to give myself to others, I need to serve others. Do I affirm this in words or with my life?”

So the doctrine of the Trinity isn’t just something we find in a textbook of the teachings of the Church but something that affects our actions. It’s not just a matter of words, but of being the hands and the heart of Jesus to others. This is how we spread our faith—not just words but actions as well where we try to show the love of Jesus for those we meet.

Our parish mission statement on the front of our bulletin, reads: We are a Catholic community of faith united in our love for Jesus Christ. We strive to maintain and carry the message of hope and salvation to others through our works of evangelization and examples of sacramental life.

The message of hope and salvation is what Jesus brought to the world. it is God’s gift to us all. One way we carry the message is by being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sends to us. This Holy Spirit helps us to evangelize—not just by words, but more importantly, through our actions.

In last Sunday’s homily, Deacon Doug referred to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, which began last Monday when the Easter season ended with the feast of Pentecost. I can’t remember his exact words, but I recall it was something like Lent was a time for growing in holiness, but Ordinary Time isn’t a time for us to stop living our faith. Rather, it’s a time to get busy and be committed to showing our faith…like our parish mission statement.

It’s also part of what Jesus meant when he told the disciples before His ascension into Heaven:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I told you. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.”

Jesus is truly with us. The Good Shepherd is ever by our side with his rod and staff that give us courage. So, let’s take that courage with us today.

Let us be open to Jesus as we receive him in Holy Communion today.

Let us not fear going forth and being his instrument of peace, but trust he accepts us just as we are even with all our weaknesses and sins.

But he doesn’t leave us there. He calls us to get behind him just as Jesus told Peter and the disciples about His coming passion, death, and resurrection.

Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing will ever happen to you.”  Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus was not calling Peter the Devil but indicating Peter was not thinking of the ways of God but of the world. Telling Peter to get behind Jesus wasn’t some type of punishment but an invitation to follow Jesus and learn from him. Jesus says the same to us: Get behind Me– so that we can become more like Him as he changes us from…Sinner to Saint.
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Homily for May 19, 2024–Pentecost Sunday (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

Ordinary Time is Not Time to Rest

The final words of Jesus to his disciples before he ascended into the heavens were: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The weekdays after the Ascension up to the Saturday before Pentecost are days spent in anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit, with communities praying novenas of renewal in preparing for the Feast of Pentecost. These weekday readings dive further into the Acts of the Apostles—encouraging the disciples of the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit—to proclaim the kingdom of God; even encouraging St. Paul, while in prison, on his mission to Rome.

And it’s that very Spirit who encourages us to do the same. Through the Spirit—despite what our world endures today—we must continue our mission by proclaiming God’s kingdom.

This weekend marks the end of the Easter season and the return to Ordinary Time. But Ordinary Time isn’t a time to relax but to get to work. What did we hear on the Ascension when Jesus was taken into heaven? We heard: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

These words say you have work to do before he returns, so now get busy!

Come Holy Spirit!

Today’s Gospel from John comes from the what is known as the “Last Supper Discourses,” which covers Chapters 14-17. Here Jesus tells of the coming of an advocate sent from the Father. In Greek, the term for advocate is “paraclete,” but it has a wider range of meanings to include mediator, counselor, and comforter. Many names, perhaps, but one Spirit. Jesus speaks at length about the role the Holy Spirit will play in the lives of the disciples. Let us also listen!

In Judeo-Christian historical tradition, Pentecost celebrates two different events. For those Jewish, it’s known as Shavuot, which has a two-fold meaning. Initially, it was a thanksgiving for the first fruit harvests of spring—usually pertaining to winter crops such as winter wheat. Later, Shavuot became associated with the giving of the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai—one of the defining moments in Jewish history in their relationship with the Lord. The law was understood as a gift from God, intending to restore Israel’s prominence. This law defined and separated Israel from among all other nations.

For us Christians, Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the disciples—the promise of the Father as Jesus referred to it. The descent of the Holy Spirit fulfilled the prophecy of John the Baptist and the promise of Jesus upon his Resurrection and Ascension. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples’ very nature changed. They were no longer frightened of what might happen to them but rather boldly proclaimed the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.

Further, this event marks the birth of the early Christian Church. As with the Mosaic Law, the bestowing of the Holy Spirit to the Church was God’s gift empowering the disciples to begin their mission. Today, it is meant to do the same—to empower us, the faithful—to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

The reception of the Holy Spirit does the same for us if we’re open to the Holy Spirit’s workings! The manifestation of the Holy Spirit in each person is given for some benefit. Each is given a different gift of the Spirit, but no matter the gift, it’s the same Spirit in all. If you can’t figure out what that gift is, I’ll share a secret with you: Simply pray, “Lord, use me as you see fit.”

The Conflict

All need to pray because there’s a conflict within us—the conflict of gratifying the flesh versus gratifying the Spirit. The list of the desires of the flesh in today’s reading from Galatians is in direct contrast to the workings of the Spirit. When written, this passage reflected the Hellenistic cultural norms of the day. But don’t be fooled—our modern culture is on track with these same vices. This is our very real battle today. Empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we should promote the virtues of the Spirit against such behaviors even if there are no supporting laws!

Jesus tells his disciples the Spirit will have four main functions: to witness, to guide, to announce, and to glorify. The Holy Spirit will bear witness to others about Jesus, just as disciples are called to do; the Spirit will testify to the risen Christ to others as the disciples are called to do; the Spirit will guide the disciples to the truth; the Spirit will declare to the disciples the things to come; the Spirit will glorify Christ by providing for His disciples all that the Son has.

All that was commissioned to the disciples is also commissioned unto us as we, too, have received this same Spirit upon our baptism. This assures us that we’ll have divine assistance in our mission as Christians. But to accomplish this, we must live in and follow the Spirit. Then the very nature of our lives will be changed!

 

Homily For May 12, 2024, Seventh Sunday Of Easter (Cycle B)

Homilist: Father Patrick Connor

We hear in today’s first reading from the acts of the apostles about the election of a new apostle to replace that of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our lord. The name of this new apostle is Matthias. In Hebrew this name means gift of the lord or gift of God. How fitting, for this new apostle is not only gifted by God, but a reminder how all the apostles, and all those who have been baptized are now gifts of God, gifts of the lord.

You yourselves can also be named Matthias, for each of you is a gift of God, a gift of the lord. As we gather here for Mass, we recognize and believe that Jesus, whom we are soon to receive in holy communion, is a gift of God, a gift from the Father.

But not only that—each of you is also a gift of God to Jesus. Our gift is our love for Jesus—a love by which we take him with us from this church, to be his hands and heart to all we meet.

This means that in the spirit of Matthias, we are also God’s gift to all we meet…especially those who may be hurting and in need of God’s help and strength. You never know who God will send to you so that you can bring them hope and help.

In our gospel acclamation we hear, “I will not leave you orphans, says the lord. I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.”

This is taken from the 14^th chapter of John’s gospel, when Jesus and the apostles are at the last supper. Jesus will be arrested in chapter 18 and his passion begins. Before that chapter, the four chapters of john are showing us Jesus at the last supper, gathered with his apostles.

Put yourself in the place of any of the apostles and listen to the words Jesus speaks. In our gospel, we hear Jesus say in his prayer to the father: now i am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely…i do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one…as you sent me into the world, so i sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth.”

Now, substitute the word you in some of Jesus’ phrases. Now it will read: I speak this in the world so that you may share my joy completely…I do not ask that the Father takes you out of the world, but that he keeps you from the evil one…as the Father sent me into the world, so I send you into the world, and I consecrate myself for you, so that you may be consecrated in truth.

So we are all called to share the joy of Jesus completely. But to share in His joy, we must also, like him, share in His passion. Our sharing in the passion of Jesus refers to those sacrifices we make in trying to help others. We may even face rejection or hostility as we try to be the hands and heart of Jesus to others. We will never be able to embrace Jesus in the glory of heaven if we first do not embrace him in the poor and the suffering, who in his parable of the last judgement referred to them as the least of my brothers and sisters.

Perhaps you may already be involved in this type of ministry, and also sharing in suffering, and perhaps even feeling abandoned by God as there seems to be no end to your pain or sorrow. In those times, the devil, the Father of Lies, is right there to speak into our minds and hearts and souls lies about God to try to convince us that God hates sin and hates sinners. This lie goes way back even to the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were made so scared of God by Satan that they ran and hid in the bushes from God when He called their name to go walk with him in the garden.

God knew exactly what had happened, and why they were hiding. But He wanted them to discover his love. So he asked them to tell him about it…and in the process, they discovered God hates sin but loves the sinner. God hates sin because of the harm it does to our souls, the wounds so to speak. He loves us so much he does not want to see us harmed. So he tries to help us avoid sin, but He gave us free will, so he cannot force that on us.

However, He sent his son into the world to conquer sin and death. Even though we are sinners and will also experience death, his love helps us discover his mercy and life. Even though our bodies will die, on the day when Jesus returns for the last judgement, our bodies will be raised from the grave to be united with our souls and both share in the glory of heaven forever.

So while we are here in the world, we are not of the world—our hearts and souls are called to that heavenly world in the kingdom of heaven. Meanwhile, we face times of struggle in this life. But let us find strength and hope in Jesus’ words in our gospel acclamation:

I will not leave you orphans, says the lord.

I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice!

 + + + + +

Homily for May 5, 2024, The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

Hello, everyone. It’s so good to see you here today as we gather to celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter. So, let us begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God has always loved us first.

Before we go into today’s readings, let’s recall last Sunday’s message of the biological analogy of Jesus’ intimacy with us: the parable of the vine and the branches. Jesus taught just as the very life of the vine flows from the vine into the branches, so does the very resurrected life of Christ flow from Him into us.

Today, Jesus speaks more personally. Today’s beautiful letter from John reveals what Jesus’ life is:

Love. “God is love.” His life/love flows from him into us.

It’s been suggested the word “love” in our culture is in serious need of a bath. It has become so overused, misused, and abused that it needs to be power washed to renew its sparkle.

This word ‘love’ appears in one form or another in this Sunday’s readings an amazing twenty times. God’s meaning of precious, unconditional faithfulness needs to be our focus for love. Our experience of human love is ideally a reproduction of God’s own love for us. Too often, though, it is a poor reflection.

Perhaps there is a short circuit in our love lives? Our preconditioned belief that we need to earn love, which has been a perception for everyone at some level:

• Love from our teachers—earned for good grades and conduct.
• Love from our employers—earned for success in the workplace.
• Love from parents—earned (by some, unfortunately) for being ‘good’ boys and girls.

Because our personal experience has been based by earning love, it then becomes a stretch for us to accept that God doesn’t work that way.

Basil Hume once said it is easier to believe in God than to believe God loves us.

But the simple truth is we cannot “earn” God’s love—we’re wonderfully and blessedly “stuck” with it.

You see, God has always loved us first.

 “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.”

That wonderful revelation: Love is who God is, and what He does. We hear: “Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God, but that He has loved us.” That’s the heart of today’s readings. Love exists not because we love, but because we are loved. God loves us whether we recognize it, or even if we accept it . . . or not.

We hear in the Gospel: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” The depth of that statement is often missed. Jesus is saying that the same, intimate relationship he experiences with his Father is also passed on to us as disciples. That reality of being unconditionally loved empowers us, as Jesus says, to “love one another as I love you.” We are part of this magnificent circle of love with the Father, Jesus, and one another.

Jesus taught this best at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of his disciples and gave us example of how to be toward one another in service. Then he turned around and gave himself to us in the Eucharist, allowing us to commune with Him in word and body/blood in the communion called holy.

This is God’s plan.

We need to make God’s love an essential part of our ongoing dialogue with ourselves. We all have this constant dialogue in our heads and hearts—the places where we talk to ourselves, and our self-image talks back. It is here that the conviction of God’s love for us must prevail.

We need to bask in His love. We become empowered to respond in love both to Him and one another and by conveying the love in our hearts to others, thus completing the circle of love. This is God’s plan.

If Lent was self-examination, then Easter needs to be a life-giving, life-enabling exercise that instills in us the ever-present conviction of God’s love for us. Our challenge is to appreciate, to really accept that God loves us unconditionally —just as we are.

Today’s Gospel is the very core of Jesus’ last supper discourse. We need to keep this reality always in our ongoing dialogue with ourselves, so we may constantly listen and live lovingly.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Spirit. Amen.

April 2024

Homily for April 28, 2024, The Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

The Road to Damascus is One of Conversion for All

Beginning on Friday of the Third Week of Easter, we first hear of the conversion of Saul (i.e., Saint Paul) in which he asks the high priest’s permission to go to the synagogues in Damascus to arrest and bring back any followers of “The Way”–a name used by the Christian community for itself–which included any man or woman that belonged to The Way. It then skips the readings we hear from today and goes directly to the evangelization of people throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

Today from the Act of the Apostles, we focus on the conversion of Paul, who would become, as Bishop Barrron notes, one of the indispensable men of our faith. As the author of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke puts great significance on Saul’s conversion, so much so that Luke offers three accounts of Saul’s conversion. Here in Chapter 9:1-19, in Chapter 22: 3-16, and again in Chapter 26: 2-18. The latter two times are in defense of his actions of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Jewish authorities in Asia and Caesarea.

As Paul attempts to join the ranks of the disciples, they are leery of his intentions because of his past reputation. It is Barnabas, a man of social esteem in the community, who testifies to Paul’s actions in Damascus. His testimony is enough to convince the apostles this was no longer Saul of Tarsus who went about persecuting the Jews, but Paul who had truly experienced and accepted the risen Christ.

Afterward, Paul becomes the target of persecution by the Hellenists because of his boldness in speaking in the name of Christ. As Paul himself describes it, he’s merely standing trial because of his hope in the promise God made to his ancestors.

Paul traveled extensively and made at least three missionary journeys in his lifetime, with plans for more if he had lived. He traveled around the eastern end of the Roman Empire, through Asia Minor, Cyprus, Greece, and Macedonia. He went to Antioch, Troas, Derbe, Ephesus, and across Europe to Philippi. From there, journeying to Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica.

Here, Paul warns against false prophets and attests to his own validity by proclaiming his resumé. Paul’s background is found in Phil. 3:4-7, telling all how he had observed the Jewish law, had been circumcised on the eighth day, hailed from Israel—belonging to the tribe of Benjamin as a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage. Further in observance of the law, he’d been a Pharisee and a zealous persecutor of the Christian Church. However, everything he’d once gained by his birthright and actions, he now considered a loss. Through the supreme goodness of knowing Christ Jesus, the righteousness of Paul’s heritage meant nothing, but the righteousness he’d gained through faith in Christ justified “the way” to truly please and serve God.

It’s because of Saul’s zeal that Jesus picked Paul as an instrument for His good. The events on the way to Damascus were done so Paul would be witness of the risen Christ and then convinced of Jesus’ Lordship of which Paul would boldly proclaim.

More Than Words   

Today’s letter from John speaks of the same belief in the name of Christ, boldly proclaiming it, while also following Jesus’ commandment to love one another. John also emphasizes that it’s more than word or speech but also includes deed and truth. To know if one is following this commandment is to examine our own conscience. Our hearts will know if we have hearts for God. This is something all of us fall in and out of throughout our lives. Therefore, we must constantly perform these self-examinations and seek reconciliation to strengthen ourselves through our deeds and truth.

Today’s Gospel speaks of the vine and the branches. Our belief in Christ makes us branches of the true vine that is Christ. We must remain in Christ, but (again) that takes more than just words. We must bear fruit as well and that can only come from deed and truth. We come to church because we need pruning from time to time. How we bear good fruit is by boldly proclaiming faith in Jesus as the Christ—Son of God—to others as well as loving one another.

As Paul continued in his speech to the people of Philippi from Chapter 3, picking up from verse 10, “to know him and the power of the resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it since I have been indeed taken possession of by Christ.”

Thus, it’s not enough to come here today, partake in Holy Communion, and be satisfied that we’ve done our part. Rather as you so often have heard here, it’s what we do after we leave today: “to take Christ with you out into the world, boldly proclaiming Christ by your life.”

Amen.

Homily for April 21, 2024, The Fourth Sunday of Easter           

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

Hello, everyone. It’s so good to see you as we gather to celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Let us begin, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

That Sacred Dignity

I read an interesting story this week about a pop quiz given to a class of first-year nursing students. Most of those students did well on the quiz until they came to the last question that all of them left blank.

That question: What is the name of the woman you see every morning who cleans the school?

The students thought the question was a joke until they found out the professor was counting it toward their grade.

When they protested, the professor replied, “In your careers, you’ll meet many people—all of whom are important. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello’ to them every morning.”

The students never forgot the lesson or the cleaning lady’s name.

To be a disciple of Jesus demands that we respond to everyone the same way the Good Shepherd responds to all. Every person possesses the sacred dignity of being a child of God. Likewise, every baby is the most important child ever born—a unique reflection of our God—equally deserving of the Lord’s love and care on this earth and shown through each of us.

This is why Christian charity must reach beyond our family and friends, beyond the parish family, and even beyond the family of citizens of our own country.

We must be concerned about those who are starving, suffering, or dying throughout the world. Our charity cannot be limited by anything, including only our faith community. St. Teresa of Calcutta, for example, reached out to the poor of Calcutta and throughout the world—most of whom she helped were Hindu and not Christian, as all peoples everywhere are made in the image of God.

Easier said than done . . . but still something we must do.

Truly, all of this is easy to say but difficult to do.

Sometimes, I’m worse at this than anybody. My mind often wanders with too many things to do. I often block out everything around me as I scamper from one task to another.

Perhaps you do this, too. You might be on the run and totally oblivious to a neighbor who is down in the dumps. Or you might be so caught up in your kids’ hectic schedule—bringing this one to baseball, that one to karate, dance, school meetings, etc.—that you don’t notice your children have needs far greater than all the extracurricular activities you take them to.

Following the Good Shepherd requires our never being too busy to be aware of, and respond to, those around us who need help.

The One Voice

I heard another true story that relates to the presence of the Good Shepherd in our lives.

A number of years ago, there was a terrible fire in an apartment building in New York City. A little girl was trapped on the fourth floor of the building perched on a window ledge. To make matters worse, she was blind. The firefighters couldn’t maneuver the ladder truck in such a way to reach the girl, so they set up a net and told her to jump.

But because of her blindness, she was too terrified to move.

Then her father arrived on the scene and shouted to her that he was there to catch her, and she should jump when he told her. The girl did and was so completely relaxed that she didn’t break a bone or even strain a muscle from the four-story fall.

All because she trusted the voice that she knew loved her.

It’s the busyness of our lives—noise, distractions, even calamities—that obscures what we desperately need to hear.

That is the voice of calm, the voice of reason, the voice of assurance.

And let’s not forget the voice of unconditional, unqualified love: the voice of Christ speaking to us in the quiet of our hearts, in the love of our family and friends, in the cries of those calling around us.

The Good Shepherd calls us calmly and lovingly. He tells us to take that leap of faith and trust in Him as he will never be too busy to care for us.

The Good Shepherd is the Risen Lord. He is always with us and will never leave.

Today, we ask Our Lord to allow us to slow down and hear his voice.

In the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen,

March 2024

Homily for March 17, 2024, The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year A—optional readings for the Scrutiny)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

We grow together.

Today, our readings are again (and for the final time) taken from Year A and pertain to those of our parish’s Elect, i.e., those candidates journeying toward full reception into the Catholic Church, along with many other Elect in our diocese, our country, and worldwide. The readings pertain to the Scrutinies, rites that follow the Rite of Election, where a candidate’s sponsor first gives testimony, to the candidate’s acceptance of the faith. After that testimony, approval is then asked from the attending congregation for their acceptance of the candidates faith journey. Upon the congregation’s approval, the bishop (or in his absence, the designated priest) then gives his consent and prays for these candidates to continue their journey through Lent until full reception at the Easter Vigil.

The Scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the heart of the Elect (RCIA study guide). Thus, the Scrutinies are a time of close self-searching, repentance, and above all, have a spiritual purpose.

It’s the same journey we’re on during this Lenten season, preparing us for the glory of Easter.

Our parish candidates are Rebecca and John Paul Reynolds. They’ve been attending St. Catherine’s in Addison and will soon become full-fledged members of Saints Isidore and Maria Torribia Parish—synonymous with full reception into the Roman Catholic Church.

During these last three weeks, the gospels have dealt with the Initiation Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. On the third week of Lent (the first week of the Scrutiny), we heard readings pertaining to water; particularly from the gospel story of the Samaritan women dealing with the “living water” (Jn 4) that represents the waters of baptism, cleansing us of original sin and sustaining life—more specifically, the hope of eternal life.

Last week, our readings encompassed our blindness (Jn 9)—not just physical, but spiritual blindness due to sin. Further, we were told humanity doesn’t see as God sees. Rather, humanity only sees the outward appearance, while God pays no mind to external appearances but looks directly into the true desires of our hearts. Through baptism, we are cleansed of sin. And through our acceptance of the gospel and profession of faith, we’re brought into the light of Christ, becoming “People of the Light.”

All will be renewed.

This week, our readings encompass a new beginning beyond our earthly mortality, leading to our resurrection when our merciful, compassionate God raises us up in new life, just as he did Jesus Christ.

Our reading today deals with the Exile, soon after the destruction of the capital city of Jerusalem, along with the decimation of the Jewish people’s sacred temple. For the Jews, this utter desolation seemed as if God had abandoned them, and all hope lost. However, Ezekiel tells them of his vision of being led into the desert to a pile of sun-bleached bones. (If you’re not familiar with this story, I encourage you to read it in its entirety [Ez 37: 1-14].) There, Ezekial is told to prophesy over those bones, telling them to hear and obey the Word of God by commanding them to come to life, at which point, the bones grew flesh, and the spirit of God placed within them. This vision instills hope all will be renewed. This reading about the dry bones vision focuses on the new life God will give to the Israelites—even opening the graves of those already deceased—and giving them a new spirit so they may live. Further, God would also settle among them. Thus, Ezekiel testifies to God’s promise of restoration and hope to the Israeli people.

For many early Christians, Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead fulfilled God’s promise proclaimed in Ezekiel’s vision and seen as the restoration of Israel. For today’s Christians, Christ’s resurrection is seen as God’s promise extended to the entire world. Paul’s letter to the Romans reiterates that same message: God brings life to the soul, even if the body is dead. As Christians, we have received the Spirit of Christ, and if Christ’s spirit dwells in you, then your mortal bodies will be raised just as that same Spirit raised our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection and the Life.

This is what today’s story of Lazarus foretells: If you believe and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will be raised up on the last day.

Jesus purposely delays his arrival upon hearing that Lazarus is gravely ill, saying Lazarus’s illness would not end in death, but glorify God. In last week’s gospel, Jesus proclaimed something similar. When his disciples ask about the reason for a blind man’s blindness—implying that reason was due to the man’s or perhaps his parents’ sin—Jesus replies the man’s sightlessness wasn’t the result of any transgression; instead, the work of God was to be witnessed through him.

And it would be Jesus who makes visible his Father’s work in both stories, showing God’s divine power over life and death.

By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, we’re told Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. After this time, Lazarus’s would normally have begun decomposing, as Martha’s notes there would be a stench when Jesus asks for Lazarus’s tomb to be opened.

However, Jesus tells Martha to believe and then calls out to Lazarus, who walks out on his own, fully alive. Just as the dry bones in Ezekiel’s story were restored to life with flesh and spirit, so, too, was Lazarus. But this story of the raising Lazarus is more than a story of compassion it reveals Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.

Thus, this last Scrutiny is about the resurrection—something glorious that John and Rebecca will inherit like all who have received the Sacraments. Like the Jewish people’s faith was restored with Ezekiel’s message of hope, it’s also about believing and restoring our faith as Christians:

• Believing in the word and power of God.
• Believing as Catholic Christians in the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
• Believing in Jesus’s profound, unbounded love for the Father and for us, such that he would sacrifice himself for our sins so we may have everlasting life.

Amen.

March 10, 2024. Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year A)

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

Hello, everyone. It’s so good to see you today as we gather to celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Let us begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Do you thirst for the living water that Jesus offers you?

Last weekend, Fr. Pat shared that we currently have two people, John and Rebecca, who are participating in the RCIA process, being facilitated by Deacon Doug. John was never baptized, and therefore considered a catechumen. He’ll be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Rebecca was baptized in another Christian denomination, and she’s considered a candidate who will be welcomed into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Both John and Rebecca will receive their First Communion and be Confirmed at the Easter Vigil. Did I mention John and Rebecca are married to each other and have a beautiful family? We’re blessed to welcome John and Rebecca and their family into our parish family.

Last weekend, our parish community celebrated the Rite of Election and the First Scrutiny with John. The Scrutinies are rites of conversion and repentance fully intended for Catechumens, now known as the Elect, and celebrated on the middle three Sundays of Lent.

The Elect are those preparing for Baptism. During the First Scrutiny, the focus of the Gospel was on our thirst for the living water that Jesus offers. The main question for the Elect, and for each of us, is: “Do you thirst for the living water that Jesus offers you?”

Do we see the way Jesus sees?

This weekend, we celebrate the Second Scrutiny with John. The focus of today’s Gospel has to do with how we see. More specifically, do we see the way Jesus sees?

Notice how the Gospel story begins! The disciples ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Notice how sinners operate! Instead of having compassion for the man born blind, they want to assign blame so they can feel comfort in believing they can avoid this infirmity.

Jesus doesn’t offer them this comfort, replying, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

Thus, it’s the disciples who begin this story blind.

Jesus is asking them to see God’s glory and love shine through infirmity. People with a physical disabilities ought to be treated with the same love and respect as anyone else. Jesus makes that very clear when he restores sight to the man born blind. Indeed, after Jesus gives sight to the man born blind, we see Jesus’ gift of sight isn’t limited to the man’s eyes–the former blind man also gains spiritual sight as the story progresses.

The once-blind man begins by referring to his healer as “the man called Jesus.” His spiritual sight grows even more when he refers to Jesus as “a prophet.” At the end of the story, his spiritual sight becomes crystal clear when he confesses Jesus to be “Lord”–a title reserved only for the Deity.

Meanwhile, as the man born blind gains this spiritual sight, the religious leaders in the story become progressively more spiritually blind. They don’t take the man at his word, so they bring in the man’s parents for questioning. The religious leaders can’t get past their bias that Jesus is, in their eyes, a sinner. The drama heats up as our formerly blind hero’s spiritual sight blossoms to the point where he becomes an evangelist.

Just like the woman at the well last week, the story begins with this man alone and isolated. After an encounter with the Lord, the man becomes an evangelist. The religious leaders, refusing to see the amazing grace at work in this man’s life, shut their eyes to the miracle that has taken place, denounce the man as a sinner, and throw him out of the synagogue. Thus, by the end of the story, a reversal of faith has taken place. The blind man truly sees, and those who claim to see are truly spiritually blind.

We are all the blind man.

My friends, who are we in this story?

I’d like to suggest all of us are that man born blind. The sight given to us at birth isn’t sufficient for seeing God. We need a different sight for that—the sight that comes from faith.

All of us received a special gift of spiritual sight at Baptism. Just as Jesus sent the man born blind to the waters of Siloam, we were sent to the waters of baptism. We’re now challenged to see the world differently because of that amazing grace.

What would happen if we saw the world around us with Jesus’ eyes? Think about it!

• Would we look at our family members differently if we saw them with Jesus’s eyes?
• Would we look at our co-workers differently if we saw them with Jesus’s eyes?
• Would we look differently at the unborn, struggling families, people who live on the margins, people with infirmity, people experiencing homelessness, if we saw them with Jesus’s eyes?
• Would we see world events and our politics differently if we saw these things through Jesus’s eyes?

My friends, would you look at the person in the mirror differently if you saw yourself with Jesus’s eyes?

Can you look in the mirror with the same love and kindness Jesus has for you?

Can you accept the invitation to see yourself with a different sight like what an unnamed man saw in the waters of Siloam?

As the song goes: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found. I was blind, but now I see.”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

February 2024

Homily for February, 25, 2024, Second Sunday of Lent

Homilist: Deacon Dave LaFortune

The Key Word: Listen

Hello everyone! It’s so good to see you.

Let us begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. There’s one sentence from that Gospel I want us to focus on: “[F]rom the cloud came a voice. ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.’”

The key word here is “Listen!”

During Lent, we’re reminded that we must listen to Jesus.

But how do we listen?

First, turn off all that distracts us; turn off the tv, the laptop, and the cell phones. Then, take some quiet time to read from one of the Gospels and listen to what Jesus may be saying to you.

Another way to listen to Jesus is to simply talk to Jesus. When you talk to Jesus, take time to clearly listen to what Jesus may be saying to you.

During this Lenten season, take time to really listen to Jesus. You might be surprised by what you hear!

State of the Parish

Today. I want to talk about the “State of our Parish.”

A few years ago, our parish was really struggling—especially financially. Something that became clear from the various town hall meetings: The parish leadership needed to do a much better job communicating to our parishioners, and we had to be much more transparent about what is going on in our parish.

Unfortunately, we haven’t done a decent job of being transparent or communicating to you. We acknowledge that we must do a better job!

During our most recent Finance Council meeting held on February 7^th, we reviewed the first six months of our fiscal year: July-December, 2023. The good news: Our total operating revenue outperformed our operating expenses by almost $7,000. Our regular collections for the first half of this fiscal year saw an increase of $16,592 when compared to the same period last year.

My friends, thank you for your outstanding generosity! You have truly blessed our parish!

You’ve heard the good news regarding our finances. Now, the more challenging news!

These last six months of the fiscal year for our parish will be challenging. Typically, we see a decline in regular collections and other operating revenue. This is understandable, especially this year. If you’re like me, living on a fixed income, you might find it challenging to make ends meet. I know I do. Whenever my wife and I go to Wegman’s or Tops, we feel the pinch of buying groceries. The same is true when we buy gas. While we recognize the challenges, we also recognize the needs of our parish. I pray we will continue to be as generous to our parish as your means allow.

At the end of our most recent fiscal year (June 2023), every parish was required to pay toward the settlement in the Diocesan bankruptcy case. Our parish paid $110,000 from our operating revenue. Now, our plan is to gradually repay our operation funds for the funds used to pay the aforementioned settlement and anticipate it will take 3-5 years to accomplish.

One last point regarding our parish’s financial situation: For the past two years, we’ve successfully met our assigned parish goal for the CMA. I pray we’ll meet our goal for this year. Unfortunately, we’re far behind in reaching our goal. If you’ve already contributed to the CMA, thank you! If you have not, please prayerfully consider doing so soon.

Now, let’s turn our attention to some other areas of our parish life.

For example, during these past six months, did you know we have celebrated four baptisms, three weddings, and four funerals? Further, I anticipate over the next few months we’ll celebrate even more sacraments—such as first confessions, first communions, and confirmations!

More exciting news is in our Faith Formation programs at both St. Catherine’s and St. Stan’s. Before I go on, I want to acknowledge the amount of time and hard work that the adults involved in our faith formation programs and youth group put in every week. Thank you for your generosity.

At St. Stan’s, we have fourteen young people involved in the Faith Formation program.

• One young person is preparing to celebrate both First Reconciliation and First Communion.
• Another young person is preparing to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation. And when the sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated, they will also have a May crowning!
• I also understand there are plans to have a Senior Supper for the students during Holy Week. They could use some volunteers to help! Reach out to Sherry Sandford for more information.
• The Food Pantry next to St. Stan’s helped feed many individuals/families this past Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Stan’s also just hosted a Poor Man’s Supper, which I understand was well attended.

At St, Catherine’s, we have forty young people who are participating in the Faith Formation program.

• Three young people are preparing to celebrate First Reconciliation and First Communion.
• Fourteen young people are preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation: eight of these young people will receive this sacrament in May, 2024, the balance will celebrate the Spring of 2025.
• Also, there are nine participants in the parish youth group that meets at St. Catherine’s, which is open to any youth of any faith who are of high school age.
• Catherine’s youth group and confirmation students hosted the October 2023 “Sweet and Greet” coffee hour held after Mass, where 100 people participated.
• Catherine’s also hosted the annual Addison Area Christmas baskets and toy program serving the needs of families and individuals in the Addison area.
  • Parishioners from St. Catherine’s collected 632 cans of soup. (The goal was 350!).
  • This event served 175 individuals/families this year.
• The Faith Formation students from St. Catherine’s won 1^st prize in the annual Knights of Columbus “Keep Christ in Christmas” poster contest.
• Three youth group members were awarded the Diocese of Rochester’s Hands of Christ award, given to this year’s high school seniors. Check out this weekend’s bulletin for more information about these events!
• Catherine’s will host the 32^nd Irish Dinner in a few weeks with music provided by Pat Kane!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the monthly Exposition and Adoration Hours that Deacon Doug organizes. Deacon Doug is also responsible for training new altar servers as well as overseeing the RCIA program for our parish. We have an adult preparing for baptism and celebrating their First Communion. We have another adult preparing to be welcomed into the Church. All this will take place during this year’s Easter Vigil.

My friends, this “State of the Parish” reflection intends to communicate some of the many activities currently happening in our very vibrant parish. I certainly have not mentioned every activity taking place at our three church sites.

I’m aware of the many hours some of our parishioners put in serving on our Pastoral Council, our Finance Council, our Strategic Planning Committee, our Buildings and Grounds Committee, and our choirs and music ministers at all three churches. I’m also aware of the Rosary Society at St. Stan’s, and the parishioners who assist with the money counting at St. Catherine’s.

We’re grateful and blessed by those who volunteer their time and talent to our parish!

I’d like to end my reflection by stating that many of those currently serving on our parish councils have done so for many, many years. They’d love to have other parishioners volunteer their time and talent to the parish.

We’re also looking for someone to take responsibility for putting together our weekly parish bulletin, which would normally require about 2-4 hours/week of your time.

Please take this season of Lent to LISTEN to Jesus and discern how you might volunteer your time and talent to help serve your parish.

As I stated at the beginning of my homily, the parish leadership intends to do a much better job of being transparent and communicating with you about the state of our parish. Today, I’ve only presented a snapshot of our parish’s current financial status and didn’t go into detail. If you’d like a more detailed explanation of our current finances, please let me know.

On behalf of Fr. Pat, Deacon Doug, and the members of the Finance and Parish Council, thank you for listening!

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Homily for February 18, 2024,  1^st Sunday of Lent (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell

God’s Plan for Salvation: The Covenants

Our first reading from Genesis deals with the covenant God makes with Noah and his sons. The theme in our reading is about covenant, which is mentioned five times. We’re very familiar with the story of Noah and the Ark and the great flood, which covers a major portion of the beginning of Genesis (chapters 6:5 – 9:29), and the first explicit covenant God makes in the Old Testament.

Genesis’s first eleven chapters deal with creation, sin, destruction, and recreation. This storyline can be said of the entire Bible and throughout history, can it not? God creates, humanity sins—which affects creation, resulting in destruction—and God either re-creates or re-establishes the relationship. We see this pattern throughout Israel’s history in the Old Testament, and this pattern comes to fruition in the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ in the New Testament.

A covenant is a promise between two parties and not to be broken by either party and much like a contract, which is also entered into by two parties.

However, there’s a difference between a contract and a covenant.

Theologian Scott Hahn says this about the difference: “The singular difference is that a contract determines “what is mine” [w]hile a covenant determines “who is mine.” The covenant God makes with Noah and his family isn’t just for humanity, but with all creatures that roam the earth and were spared.

A covenant usually involves a sacrifice to seal the promise, but a sacrifice was also offered as a sin offering whenever the covenant was broken. In Bishop Barron’s book, This Is My Body: A Call to Eucharistic Revival, the bishop explains the purpose of making sacrifices was a reparation required by Jewish law to put oneself back into right relationship with God. Sacrifice was symbolic of pouring out one’s own life in devotion and thanksgiving. Bishop Barron further states, “No matter how many times the covenant was taught, renewed, reaffirmed, it was broken by stubborn Israel, a ‘stiffed-necked people’ (Ex 32:9).” If this particular Bible passage were written today, it would certainly incorporate all of humanity—not just Israel.

The reason God flooded the earth was because sin had become so rampant that it affected creation. Even the creatures of the earth and sky were destroyed. More so, it affected the relationship between humanity and God. Genesis 6:5-6 says, “When the Lord saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth and his heart was grieved.”

Bishop Barron goes on to say, “And no matter how many sacrifices were offered in the Temple, Yahweh was still not properly honored, and the people still not interiorly renewed.” Regardless, today we hear God was remorseful. In His mercy, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his sons and all creatures that never again would He destroy the earth by the waters of a flood. And as proof and a constant reminder for ages to come, when the clouds cover the earth, the rainbow appears, and God himself will recall the covenant He made.

Numerous covenants will follow this first covenant with Noah—later covenants would be made with Abraham, Moses, King David, and Isaiah. But this first covenant has an interesting feature: God makes an unconditional promise not to destroy the earth with water, with no condition or terms placed upon humanity to uphold for the covenant to remain intact. Future covenants weren’t so simple, such as the covenant of circumcision with Abraham (Gn 17) or the covenant of the Law with Israel (Ex 20-24).

But this first covenant would be the simplest of terms: God would take it all upon Himself.

Repent and Believe

The greatest covenant, though, was yet to come through God’s direct intervention. It was the prophet Jeremiah who had the foresight. Again referencing Bishop Barron: “He [Jeremiah] expresses Yahweh’s own pledge that He himself would one day fulfill the covenant and forgive the sins of the people.”

Today’s gospel from Mark doesn’t present the details of the temptations that Jesus went through in the desert. However, we are made aware of Jesus’s time in the desert fasting and praying (forty days), which correlates with the Israelites’ time spent wandering in the desert (forty years). Although lacking detail of Christ’s exact trials, Mark’s critical point focuses on Jesus emerging from the desert victorious over the temptations of sin and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, announcing, “This is the time of fulfillment, the reign of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel!”

“Repent and believe in the Gospel”—perhaps those were the very words spoken when you received ashes on your foreheads on Ash Wednesday.

As we enter the Lenten season, marked with ashes, we enter our own desert to pray and fast, give alms, to recall our own sinfulness, while seeking repentance, reconciliation, and a renewal of the covenant. The “time of fulfillment” is still at hand, and Christ has made it available to us through his own death and resurrection. Our 40-day journey is our opportunity to come out on the other end of Lent renewed, victorious as Christ was in the desert.

We’re still caught in the pattern of creation, sin, destruction, and recreation, but we can thankfully recall God’s promise: “Never will I doom the earth because of man, since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living things, as I have done (Gn 8: 21).” As the waters of the flood once destroyed the sinfulness on earth but also cleansed it, now the waters of baptism established by Christ will wash away our sins to cleanse us.

For this day, God has given us something better: the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, the righteous, for us, the unrighteous, that Christ might lead each of us to God.

He’s given each of us a choice to be saved, with a tangible sign of this new covenant as our reminder: the Body and Blood of the Eucharist.

This greatest covenant of all promises us eternal life.

Thus, God did his part and ours, so repent and believe in the Gospel!

Homily for February 4, 2024,  5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homilist: Deacon David LaFortune

Hello, everyone. I’m so glad to see you here today as we gather together to celebrate the 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Now, let us begin, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Taking God at His Word

For the past two weeks, we were blessed to have Fr. Dan Condon, the Chancellor for our Diocese, break open the Word of God for us. I thought his homilies were very pastoral.

Two weeks ago, Fr. Condon suggested we should take time during the week to read The Book of Jonah or the Gospel of Mark to see how God might be speaking to our hearts. Last weekend, we heard that Jesus taught the people with authority. His authority came from his relationship with His Father. When Jesus taught, His words opened the hearts of those who heard Him. Fr. Condon reminded us that we are all called to open our hearts to God’s Word.

This weekend, our first reading from Job is very depressing. Job is very articulate as he voices one woe after another. Job’s days are full of misery, and he can’t even get nightly rest to prepare for what he must face the next day.

Have you ever felt like Job—overwhelmed by life? I know that I have!

Job doesn’t solve the problem of suffering for us. He offers no interpretation—just gives us a gloomy picture of human life and work. If he’d given us some resolution, it might help people bear their pain, knowing their suffering isn’t in vain. Instead, suffering remains a mystery.

Job’s lot is a painful, complex one, and he doesn’t think it will ever end. By laying out his misery, he seems to be hinting to God, “Do something!”

Job’s plight puts us in the minds of those suffering from physical or emotional distress, endless days and nights of misery, starvation, and fear in places like Ukraine, Gaza and so many other places throughout the world. I don’t think any of us here can truly understand the fear that these people are feeling. Losing control in our lives due to exterior or interior forces, can make us feel like Job: “a slave who longs for shade.”

However, if read the entire Book of Job, we would discover Job concludes he’ll never have the answers to all of his problems. He realizes that he must place his trust in God.

Like Job, we too must place our trust in God, especially when life becomes overwhelming.

God Heals

Jesus’ actions throughout the Gospels and in today’s passage, speak clearly to us. God does not send us pain or suffering. With Job, we look for relief. It may not come in the form we want, nevertheless Jesus shows us that God is always reaching out to heal our brokenness.

The Psalm today stirs our faith to proclaim, “Praise the Lord who heals the brokenhearted.”

Jesus lived in a world full of problems.

Many of the greatest challenges the people of Jesus’s day endured were various sicknesses. We read in the Gospels of people suffering from leprosy, paralysis, epilepsy—to name a few. We hear about the blind and the deaf. Scores of people pushed against Jesus. They wanted to be healed. Jesus knew sickness wasn’t not part of the Father’s plan. These people were suffering the result of mankind’s choosing death over life, choosing to push God aside in favor of the material world. They were innocent as individuals, but all suffered from humanity’s guilt. Jesus’ heart went out to them. He hurt for them.

And Jesus did heal many people—lepers, a man with a withered arm, cripples—and many, many more. It’s no wonder large crowds continually pressed on Jesus, pleading with Him to heal them.

Notice, though, what Jesus did before he healed someone. He prayed. He prayed to His Father. His human nature stayed in touch with his divine nature as he went off to a deserted place to pray. And His prayers were answered with such power that he could heal.

We don’t know the reasons for so many problems in the world.

We don’t know why good people suffer.

We don’t know why children die.

We do not even know the extent of suffering around us.

What we do know is that if we keep a relationship with God, we can see all difficulties for what they are: temporary. “This too will pass,” the wise say.  So, we meet challenges head on, knowing God will fight with us, helping us win the battle here, so we can join him in the eternal celebration of His victory.

And so, we pray.

We welcome the spiritual into our lives. We welcome the Presence of God into our lives and witness Him strengthening our faith life. And we witness the power of prayer. Over and over, people tell me stories of how they or their loved ones survived and grew closer to God due to prayer. I have witnessed people healed through the Sacrament of the Sick. And how many people have gone to healing services and been healed? It isn’t the person who leads the service who does the healing. The healing is due to the power of God answering prayers.

Jesus heals. He heals the pain not just of the people of the past—those we hear about in the Gospels. Jesus heals the pain of the people today.

We Are Not Alone

Some receive healing immediately. Others receive healing in stages.

All who call to the Lord are healed. Some are healed physically. Some are healed emotionally, able to accept their condition in life. All receive spiritual healing as they unite their pain to the Cross of Christ.

We who carry Christ within us, carry within us the One who heals. If we believe in Him, if we trust in Him, then we refuse to join Job’s cry of despair. We recognize Christ is present when we need Him the most, healing our internal and our external turmoil.

We need to remember we are not alone. Jesus is always with us.

The last words of the Gospel of Matthew are so important: “Know that I am with you always until the end of time.” He is here to protect us from the doubts and despair that plagued Job. He is here to give us the courage to walk with Him over the threshold to a new life.

Today, we’re told that when we suffer, in any manner, we must reach out to the presence of God.

We believe He is present for us; that He is with us.

We believe that He cries out with us, sharing our pain.

We must use this special presence of the Lord to come closer to the God who loves us, who was one of us, and who gave his life for us.

So, we ask our God, “When the difficulties of our human condition weigh heavily upon us, dear Lord, teach us how to pray.”

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

January 2024

Homily for January 7, 2024, The Epiphany of the Lord (Year B)

Homilist: Deacon Doug Farwell.

All nations are invited to sing the Lord’s praises, for they’ve been called to hear the good news and worship the long-awaited Messiah and King.

Each year, the Church uses these powerful sets of readings for the manifestation of the Lord that we celebrate as “The Epiphany of the Lord.”

The first reading from Isaiah is prophesied during Israel’s exile in Babylon around 550 B.C. Here, the prophet offers a vision of better days ahead filled with unimaginable joy! We can only wonder how hard this would have been to comprehend since the Israelites had been exiled from their promised land of Jerusalem for almost two generations. However, Isaiah isn’t only offering hope but challenging them, too, by telling them God would restore them to glory as He had done for their ancestors.

While this encouragement is expressed mainly for the Israelites’ benefit, Christianity likewise sees hope as the prophesy states all nations shall walk by the light—a prophesy fulfilled by the birth of Christ, including everyone in God’s design for salvation. It’s true that God specifically chose the Israelites to be His promised people—a priestly and holy nation—yet there was much more to God’s plan. Israel became that beacon of light to the entire world, so through Israel, all peoples of every nation would be gathered unto Himself. Importantly, this theme is also found in the final words of Matthew’s Gospel, expressed by the resurrected Christ, when Jesus tells the disciple to go forth and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Paul writes of the mystery exposed in the letter to the Ephesians. This mystery, made known to Paul, didn’t come to him through flesh and blood (Gal 1:11-12), but through the risen Christ. This revelation is also proclaimed at the beginning of the letter to the Galatians and again at the end of Romans (Rm 16:25). That mystery not only reveals Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but also the salvation of the Gentiles, who will become coheirs—members of the same body and copartners in the promise of Christ.

The Epiphany we celebrate today isn’t solely about recognizing the infant Jesus as the Messiah, as expressed on our Gospel, but a personal epiphany that all people, because of their faith in Christ, are members of the same body. God makes himself manifest to all nations through the life, death, and Resurrection of his divine Son. This is the insight  proclaimed today in the Epiphany of The Lord!

The wisemen who traveled from the East represent all nations.

It’s thought the three wisemen came from Persia (Melchior), India (Caspar), and Arabia (Balthasar). This account from Matthew, read every year for the Epiphany, continues the universal theme including all people of every nation. It’s here that Isaiah’s prophecy is finally fulfilled.

The wisemen travel a great distance from the East in search of a king. Not only does their long, difficult journey speak of something special about this particular king, but their offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh offer more insights, too. Their gifts represent royal dignity (the gold), the greatness of the priesthood (the frankincense), and intermingled with human mortality, Christ’s divinity as the Messiah, the anointed one (the myrrh).

In reflecting on these readings, I thought about the conditions in our world today and how Isaiah’s words affect us. . . .

The war in Ukraine is approaching two years in February.

Palestine and Israel are now engaged in conflict.

We, too, are experiencing divisions, politically and socially, within our country.  These conflicts have impacted the world as we’ve seen these divisions widen.

Despite all this, do we see only darkness caused by these thick clouds, or do we still see the radiance of the Lord shining through?

Isaiah’s words can offer encouragement and hope, but still challenge us today as well!

How do we see through the darkness of our turbulence today and look upon the radiance of God?

Where does the manifestation of our Lord occur?

The answer to these questions is found in the Eucharist. There, through the Body and Blood of Jesus, is the radiance of God’s countenance and God made known.

And in the end, we realize that we have something more precious to offer than gold, frankincense, and myrrh—our very selves!