Healing Service Homily: Tuesday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Ex 2:1-15a; Ps: 69; Mt 11:20-24

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Good evening, everyone…and praise God – praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s wonderful to see so many here tonight; all of you, open to God’s healing presence in your lives. Praise God, too, for this.

We’re gathered here in Jesus’ name, so we know He’s with us. Present not only in our presence, but here especially in His Eucharistic Presence. And where Jesus is, so too is the Father, for they are One, One with the Holy Spirit.

When we turn to Scripture, we find the Holy Spirit inspiring, revealing, anointing, and counseling. He does it all. As we proclaim in the Creed: He’s the “Lord and giver of life.” He is the fount of Truth and Wisdom, the sanctifier, the source of sacramental grace, the manifestation of God’s power in the world.

When Jesus rejoiced, He rejoiced in the Spirit. When He prayed, He prayed filled with the Spirit. And when he healed, the Spirit acted through Him. And so, tonight, confident that the Holy Spirit is here among us, present in His power and glory, we turn to Him, the Divine Healer, for healing is among the Spirit’s greatest works.

God knows how much we all need healing – healing of body, mind, and spirit; so He sends His Spirit into the world to heal all who come to Him.

Sacred Scripture, especially in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, is filled with healings, but they’re all so very different. All kinds of people come to Jesus – men and women; young and old; Jews and Gentiles – all seeking His healing touch. He heals them all. Some come on their own, some are brought to Him by others, by family or friends, and some are healed at a distance. But for all of them it was through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus healed.

St. Peter confirmed this when preaching to the centurion Cornelius and his household, he said:

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all…” (Acts 10:38)

Where Jesus is, so too is the Holy Spirit. And together they heal us all. What does this mean to us? Does Jesus offer healing to all of us? Well, yes, He does. But we must understand He offers us multiple kinds of healing.

We humans are pretty complex creatures. God gave us bodies, but as many of us here have figured out, these bodies just don’t last that long. So, He also gave us an immortal soul, that divine piece of our humanity that goes on forever, and carries us into eternity.

And from that we have an intellect and a will, so we can learn what God wants for us and of us, why we’re here, and then decide what to do about it.

It’s all pretty fantastic, isn’t it? Well, yes, it is, except when we decide to misuse our intellects by ignoring all that He teaches us; or misuse our wills by making incredibly wrong decisions. It’s really what Jesus faced in our passage from Matthew’s Gospel. Our Lord uses some pretty harsh words, doesn’t He?

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!”

Yes, indeed, Jesus was upset! There’s no mistaking it – Jesus was definitely upset. You see, is wasn’t some impersonal, detached judgment on Jesus’ part. In fact, I think it was truly personal.

Matthew, writing this Gospel, uses the Greek word for “woe.” It’s an interesting word. In Greek it’s one of those onomatopoeic words – words like bark, or cough, or hiss – that sound like the things they mean. The Greek word for “woe” is οὐαί, a word that sounds like a lament, a cry of sorrow. And that was intentional. Matthew uses this word to show us that Jesus, in His humanity, is speaking out of grief.

Chorazin! Bethsaida! Capernaum! These were places Jesus had stayed, places He’d visited, where He’s ministered to their people – where He healed, taught, loved – and still, the people didn’t respond.

Yes, Jesus is divine, but He’s also human, and that kind of rejection surely hurt. It’s hard not to feel the sting of it all – how Jesus must have felt.

Of course, our initial reaction is to recall times when it’s happened to us – when we spoke the truth but were summarily rejected.

I’ll tell you a story. Years ago, I was director of customer satisfaction and focus for a high-tech firm. It was an engineering-driven firm, and at a key meeting, the product engineers introduced a major change to a major product. I realized immediately that our customers would not be happy. But I was unable to convince our management. One sales engineer had the courage to agree with me, but his concerns were also rejected. I’ll never forget what the head of engineering said, “Our customers will like it because we like it.” Of course, the customers hated it. But no one ever said, “You know, you were right.” No, they just dug in deeper trying to show our customers how wrong they were. It didn’t have a happy ending.

About that time, I decided retirement at 59 sounded pretty good, so Diane and I soon headed south to The Villages.

Did you notice, the example that came to my mind was a situation where I’d been rejected. I never even considered the times I’d rejected others, or worse, rejected God Himself. The Gospel should lead us to wonder about ourselves, about our actions, our thoughts and words, and their impact on others.

Today I find myself asking: Where has Christ already been present in my own life, and yet I’ve failed even to notice, or perhaps worse, I noticed but failed to respond? You know that our God does that. He places others, those in need, in our path, or inserts little slices of grace into our lives, begging us to recognize and respond.

And when I didn’t respond…maybe in someone I overlooked – just didn’t consider them all that important, or worthy of my time? Or perhaps it was a moment of grace I was too busy to recognize, too self-absorbed, too worried about my own problems, my own suffering, my own need for healing?

How often and why do we fail even to notice these Godly gifts? Usually we’re just too busy, so tightly wrapped up in our own human issues, that we pay little attention to others and what God is calling us to do. In the grip of suffering, and in our humanity, we turn inward, toward our suffering, hoping, somehow, for healing and relief.

And so we hear this Gospel passage, and mistakenly think it’s all about judgment. But it’s about much more than that. You see, in truth, it’s really an invitation. Jesus, in that paradoxical, counter-intuitive way of His calls us to turn outward, to look beyond ourselves, to turn to Him in faith and to others in love.

Remember the four men in Capernaum who carried the paralytic to Jesus and lowered him through the roof…You can read about it in Mark, chapter 2. How did Mark put it?

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’” [Mk 2:5]

Throughout the entire event, he paralytic never said a word. And after healing the young man’s soul, Jesus goes on to heal his paralysis, all because of the faith of others.

And so, to those here tonight who brought someone you love for healing, believe me, God thanks and blesses you. Your faith may well lead to healing. Take a moment. Look to the person sitting in front of you, beside you, behind you – they’re all here for healing too. Have you looked to them? Have you prayed for them? After all, if the power of prayer is so great; should we not be praying for each other, and not simply for ourselves?

Remember, the faithlessness and selfishness of so many people in those three cities didn’t stop Jesus. He continued His work, in the Gospel, throughout the ages, and He continues it here today. He still shows up, doesn’t He? He’s still present in our lives, in our work, in our families, in our conversations – yes, even in our sinfulness. He’s present in all those moments of chaos and fear…and in the moments of stillness, the moments when we open our minds and hearts to Him.

God knows exactly what we need, but do we know? What kind of healing do you need? What do I need? We’re so sure we know, aren’t we?

But like the young paralytic, we likely need spiritual healing first. So, seek the Lord and His amazing grace in the sacraments. Let your soul be healed in Reconciliation, receive the gift of salvation through the Eucharist.

Or as St. Paul said, “It is Christ in you, the hope for glory.” (Col 1:27)

Homily: Mass and Healing Service - Thursday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time

Note: On Thursday evening, Father Glen celebrated a special Mass, which was followed by a Healing Service for all who sought healing of any kind, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or the healing of broken or damaged relationships. Many came and were prayed over by our prayer teams who laid hands on each person and asked the Holy Spirit to provide the healing they sought.

I was humbled to have been asked to preach to this gathering of the faithful who came to hear God's Word and then joined together in Eucharistic Communion with our Lord Jesus Christ and with each other.

My homily follows...

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Readings: Mal 3:13-20b • Psalm 1 • Gospel: Lk 11:5-13

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Good evening, everyone. Praise God. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because we’re here in Jesus’ name, the Holy Spirit is with us in all His power, in all His glory, so that in Him we can come to know our loving Father better, all through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me begin by saying I’m in deep water today, way out of my depth…but that’s the way it usually is whenever we set out to do God’s work. So often we’re sure we know what God is calling us to do, but then suddenly He teaches us otherwise. After all, it’s not our work; it’s God’s work. And you and I can never approach God’s work from a position of strength. It’s always from weakness.

I worried a bit about what I’d say tonight, but then finally, did what I should have done from the beginning, I prayed…and I asked the Spirit to guide me, to tell me what to say.

As God revealed through the prophet Malachi, we will see “the distinction between the one who serves God, and the one who does not.” He calls us only to serve Him.

Healing is such a personal thing. No two of us come to healing from the same place; each journey is different, and so is the baggage we carry with us. Because we’re all so amazingly and wonderfully different, what can I say that will apply to us all? But then the Spirit turned my aging brain to the parable staring me right in the face.

“Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you...”

Comforting words, aren’t they? But I think too many of us take those words and extract only what we want to hear. We focus so much on the things of our lives, the uniquely human activities and distractions that occupy so much of our time. Distracted by these “things,” we often misinterpret what Jesus is telling us about prayer – for that’s what this parable’s all about. We focus on our problems, our hurts and illnesses, our burdens, our confused lives…and then, like the unrelenting friend in the parable, if we just pray really hard, and persist, then God will finally say, “Okay, okay,” and give us whatever we ask.

To believe this is to see this parable from a very literal, very human perspective, one that sees God as this sleepy neighbor who only responds if we nag Him relentlessly. We forget, it’s a parable, and God is no sleepy neighbor who needs persuading.

Jesus continues with another brief parable, this time referring to that special human relationship between parent and child.

“What father among you will give his son a snake if he asks for a fish, or hand him a scorpion if he asks for an egg?”

And we all say, “I’d never do that!” — because we love our children. And because God loves us even more, obviously He’ll give us whatever we ask. The trouble is, too often, instead of asking for a fish or an egg, we ask for the snake or the scorpion. Then, dissatisfied with God’s response, we do act like children. We get angry with God. We throw little tantrums and turn away from Him. After all, we asked, but didn’t receive.

Do we think we can manipulate God, that if we ask Him repeatedly, we somehow obligate Him? Or maybe we think, “If God is a loving and caring Father who gives only ‘good’ things, why must we persist in asking? Why do we have to ask at all?”

Let’s not forget that Jesus tells us to pray to the Father, “Thy will be done.” Persistence in prayer – as Paul reminds us, “pray without ceasing” – is for our benefit, not God’s, so we must pray boldly for conformity with God’s will. If the will of the child doesn’t conform to the will of the Father, the child, disregarding all personal desire, must repeat with Jesus in the Garden, “...not my will, but yours.” You see, Jesus wants us to pray for everything good. This is what the Father wants for us.

Then, at the end of the parable, we encounter a gift:

“If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

What Jesus promises is far better than anything we had in mind. He promises the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the love shared by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What could be better than that?

And yet, how often in prayer do we ask for the Holy Spirit? Only God’s grace, given freely by the Holy Spirit through the saving power of the Son, can save us from our sinfulness and raise us to new life in Him. In the Creed we call the Holy Spirit, “the Lord and Giver of Life.” This is the healing we all need. Anything else is just God’s little surprise for us. Immersed in that holy flow of grace, what we receive is totally aligned with All Goodness, All Love, all perfect answers to our fervent prayer.

And if you receive exactly what you asked for, rejoice! Jump for joy because you are one with the will of our loving God…your prayer was answered! Sometimes the answer Is “No”, or “Maybe later”, or “I have a better solution.” We can be ok with those answers when we realize they’re given in love. Always in love, sisters and brothers, no matter how difficult and contrary they seem at the moment.

Reviewing my own life, all its stupid mistakes, its sinfulness, self-built obstacles, and crazy moments, I see the work, the signature, of my loving God. I can say only, “Thank You, Lord, for being there always, even when I didn’t realize it.”

In prayer, then, as in all things, Jesus is our model. Recall the raising of the dead Lazarus, and how Jesus prayed:

“Father, I thank you for having heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd, that they may believe that you sent me.”

You and I are in that crowd; it’s all meant for us. The all-powerful intercession we rely on when we pray in Jesus’ name, and conform our own prayer to His. You see, what Jesus is really telling us is that our prayer must be an act of simple trust, the kind of trust you see in the face of a child who knows his parent will never harm him. And like that child, we often don’t know what’s good or bad for us. But God, the good parent, tells us, “Trust me. You’ll thank me for it later.”

You and I can teach God nothing, but we can ask everything of Him, entrusting to Him the judgment of our real needs. It’s our duty to ask, to pray. We’re His children, and should want to receive everything from His hand. But we should ask, seek and knock so that we may discover God’s will for us, and then ask for the courage and strength to do it.

Certainly, we can always ask God for specific things, but more important is to enter into His presence in silence and solitude of heart. For the Holy Spirit dwells in the depths of your soul, at the very center of your being. We can best reach Him only when we grow silent. Interior silence and the ability to love God in a kind of nakedness of spirit are gifts of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, and promised to us by the revelation of His Son that “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Because of this we’re certain of the Father’s love.

Because of this we can leave behind all anxiety and fear, all uncertainty, all distrust.

Because of this we need not worry about our future; or to calculate the state of our relationship with God.

Because of this we can come to want what God wants, to acknowledge that good, and nothing but good, comes only from God, only from Our Father.

Yes, Our Father: not just mine, not just yours, ours. By the very fact that we are put into relationship with God, as sons and daughters of the Father, we find ourselves in relationship with one another. So together, in Eucharistic communion with Jesus Christ and each other, let’s enter into prayerful conversation with our God, to get a real relationship going in our asking, seeking, and knocking, and prepare to be surprised. To be loved. To be healed.

Pray for the healing of those seated around you, and then let God do His healing work.

Praised be Jesus Christ…now and forever.

 

Just Stuff

Sometimes I just feel the need to pass along a few thoughts to my blog’s highly selective cadre of readers. Nothing very astonishing, just experiences or ideas that strike me and seem worth sharing. 

To Mask or Not To Mask. For example, earlier this afternoon dear Diane said she would really like a pizza — specifically, a pepper and onion pizza — from one of our local vendors, NYPD Pizza. Now, I eat neither peppers nor onions (Were I ordering for myself, I would choose a sausage and pepperoni pizza), but because I love Diane more than life itself, I called, ordered the pizza, and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. When I arrived the pizza was not quite ready (I was a few minutes early), so I simply stood off to the side and waited. There were perhaps a dozen or so people seated at tables enjoying their meals. Of course, none wore masks, but neither did any of the employees. The cooks in the kitchen weren’t masked and neither was the one waitress. How refreshing! 

But then a man entered and approached the take-out counter. He looked to be in his 50s or 60s, but it was hard to tell since his facial features were disguised by a mask. Standing there, he glanced around the room and then uttered, presumably to himself, but loud enough for me to hear, “How come no one’s wearing a mask in here?” Assuming he wanted an answer, I just said, “Maybe like me they’re all vaccinated and know they’re immune.” It seems I was wrong and he wasn’t looking for an answer, at least from me, because he turned and said, “Vaccination means nothing. And why aren’t you wearing a mask?” At this point, I said something very un-pastoral and certainly un-deaconlike, but it just rolled off my uncontrolled tongue before I could stop it: “Because I’m not an idiot.” Fortunately, two seconds later my pizza was ready. I took it and left before he could respond either verbally or physically. I’m not proud of what I said to this confused man, but I won’t apologize for speaking the truth. Let’s get back to normal... now!

Congressional Masks. Other than the content of the president’s speech, the most obvious absurdity witnessed by the nation last night was the masking of everyone in the House chamber. Every person in the room (just 200 people in a space designed to hold 1,600) had been vaccinated. They were all masked and separated by more than six feet. They were also immune from COVID-19, so why the charade? Do you get the feeling that maybe Nancy Pelosi and her friends want to ensure Americans remain afraid and psychologically dependent on government? What other reason could they have?

Georgia On My Mind. President Biden today made a surprise trip to “racist” Georgia and visited an aging President Jimmy Carter, presumably to pick up a few pointers on how to become one of the least effective presidents in American history. Jimmy certainly wrote the script for how not to deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if you’re old enough you’ll never forget how miserable the economy was on his watch. Remember the “misery index” — the sum of inflation and unemployment — that reached over 20% in 1980? More than anything else, I believe that number put Ronald Reagan in the White House. If the federal government continues to spend the trillions Biden wants to spend, it might well break the Carter record. Assuming he’s still in office in 2024 (and still alive), I think the 2023 economy will make him a one-term president.

Attend Mass, Go To Jail. Did you know (probably not, since you won’t read about this in the mainstream media) that in the Republic of Ireland it’s now against the law to attend Mass. Yes, indeed, on April 16, I suppose in the midst of another lockdown, the Irish Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, signed a “Statutory Instrument” (presumably an official document) that makes attendance at Mass a criminal offense. Now, for all you Irish-Catholic Americans out there, who still believe Ireland is a Catholic country...believe me, it’s not. Like most of Europe, Ireland has devolved into a secular, materialistic, largely agnostic society in which all those formerly Catholic folks and the generations behind them no longer believe in much of anything, leaving the Church with little, if any, influence. Who’s to blame? Sadly, the primary culprit is the Church itself. Like too many of the bishops of our country, the bishops of Ireland slouched into political correctness and ordained a lot of questionable priests, including homosexuals, pedophiles, Marxists, and sadly, even some tacit agnostics, whose subsequent activities destroyed any credibility the Church once had. So now, the few remaining faithful, if they want to participate at Mass, must watch it on TV or prepare for a fine or a stay in the local slammer. Lest you chuckle too much at the expense of the Irish, this has also happened in some states in this country where the First Amendment of our Constitution has been overruled by certain state governors. As my late brother used to say, “Keep your powder dry.”

Whose Racism Is It, Anyway? The president believes we are essentially a racist nation, despite the fact that every conceivable indicator shows tremendous progress since the days when Senator Joe Biden was bosom buddies with the Senate’s old segregationists, especially Senator Robert Byrd (D, WV) the Ku Klux Klan’s “Exalted Cyclops.” Probably the best indicator of who actually are today’s real racists is abortion. The population of African Americans would be double its current level were it not for abortion. Indeed, abortion is the leading cause of death among black Americans. And, of course, Margaret Sanger, the founder of a Planned Parenthood, hoped to decrease birth rates among all those “less desirable” races by means of artificial contraception and abortion. Who supports abortion? Why, the Democrat Party, the party of racism, the party of the KKK, the party that filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 until Republicans forced a cloture vote. And nothing’s changed. This was apparent today when the leftist knives were unsheathed and thrown at Senator Tim Scott who gave the Republican rebuttal to the president’s speech. The racist slurs and other comments by Democrats were despicable, but what else can we expect from those whose intent is to keep African Americans on the Democrat plantation. More and more black Americans are starting to recognize their real enemy.

Catholics and Big Tech. I won’t write about this since someone else has done a far better job than I ever could. But if you’re still enamored of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all the rest, follow this link to the National Catholic Register:

Catholics in the Crosshairs of Big Tech.

That’s enough for today. God’s peace...Pray for our nation.

“The Evil One Is At Work Here”

The words in the title of this post are words spoken by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone who has had to cope with a mayor and a governor that seem to be doing all in their power to shut down churches, especially Catholic churches, in San Francisco and throughout the state. Of course, Archbishop Cordileone and his brother bishops in California are not alone. Almost all American bishops, and many others throughout the world, have had to cope with some level of anti-religious control from local and state governments. It’s as if the political forces were just waiting for an opportunity to separate the people from the practice of their faith. Evil will, of course, fail at this, but in the meantime the faith of many will be challenged.

The celebration of Mass has been effectively banned in many cities and states. The same is true of most other sacramental rites. To understand how specifically anti-religious these controls are, one need only look at other permitted gatherings. Here’s just one example, In San Francisco even the celebration of an outdoor Mass, regardless of the size of the venue, must be limited to only 12 people, including the priest. And yet Black Lives Matter “protesters” can congregate in the streets, with no separation whatsoever, and are encouraged to do so by local politicians.  

In a recent interview, Archbishop Cordileone stated that there is a definite “spiritual” connection between these Mass restrictions and the defacing and destruction of Catholic statues that recently plagued His archdiocese. He went on to say, “I performed a minor exorcism at the site of the statue of St. Junipero Serra in Golden Gate Park because statues of holy saints are sacramentals; their destruction is a sacrilege. The Evil One is at work here.” The photo below shows the Archbishop blessing the site.

The Archbishop continued by addressing what this means to us as Americans: “To take something as beautiful and holy as the face of Our Mother and desecrate it? What demons these poor, battered souls must be fighting. In the midst of all our troubles, to be deprived of the Eucharist is both a serious imposition on our rights as Americans and a serious spiritual deprivation.” He went on to say, “I’m not sure the governing authorities here in San Francisco really realize the pain they are imposing on people.” The Archbishop is much kinder than I am, for I believe they know exactly what they’re doing and the effect it has on the Catholic faithful. Yes, indeed, there is evil at work here. 

As for the Catholic faithful, Archbishop Cordileone tells them to “Pray, fast, say the rosary. Focus on living your Catholic faith in the home, with your family, praying the rosary as a family, reflecting together on the Scripture readings for Sunday Mass, watching good Catholic programming together. Reach out to help your neighbors. Let your priests know you care about them. And if you must attend Mass via livestream, don’t just ‘watch’ the Mass: worship.”  

Personally, and I am speaking here only as an American and a Catholic, I honestly believe all the restrictions placed on religious activity by government authorities are unconstitutional. Nowhere in the U. S. Constitution does the government have the power to restrict the religious activity of the people. Indeed, exactly the opposite is true. The primary right of the people, the first God-given right mentioned in the Constitution, is the right of the people to worship freely, as specified in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”

Can anyone not see that those who wield governmental power are preventing American citizens of the right to freely exercise their faith? While I certainly respect Archbishop Cordileone for what he is doing, or attempting to do, as he battles the power of evil that confronts the Church today, I believe it's time for our bishops to resist this evil strongly and openly. We are a Eucharistic Church and, as the fathers of the Second Vatican Council declared, the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life." Because of the interference of secular government, most Catholics today are deprived of the Eucharistic Bread of Life, as well as the graces that flow from the other sacraments.

It’s time for our bishops to stand tall for religious freedom. "Blessed are the meek," Jesus promised, but the meek are not the indifferent. We don’t need the government to dictate how we may worship, and should resist their attempts to do so. The Church can care for its own people and devise safe conditions to ensure the health of the faithful. Our bishops should demand the freedom to exercise the Church's First Amendment rights and do so safely. They should also be willing to suffer the consequences, even if it means imprisonment and fines. Over the past 2,000 years, beginning with the Apostles themselves, many bishops, in a spirit of courageous meekness, have paid a far greater price for such courageous acts of faith.

Remember, too, how Jesus completed the Beatitudes, this time speaking personally to His disciples:

"Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me..." [Mt 5:11]

Years ago I used to conduct a course on negotiating for businesspeople, and one of the more effective strategies was that used by those who were perceived as powerless: the power of no power. If you are willing to accept whatever consequences your opponent can inflict, you have just given yourself significant power, especially in the court of public opinion. Here's a wonderful example...

Perhaps our bishops and all Christian churches should look to Evangelical Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles County (photo at left). Pastor MacArthur has been threatened with jail time and fines because he refuses to accept Governor Newsome's restrictions that prevent his church from conducting in-person services. 

According to the pastor, "We believe the governor, the county, the city, and the health department are going against the Constitution. And just to remove one obvious question, the rate of COVID in California is 1/100 of 1% of 40 million people...and that eliminates freedom of worship from the entire state?"

The pastor went on to explain that his church has "been meeting together now for weeks and weeks and weeks, and...nobody in our congregation has ever been to the hospital with this...There's another virus loose in the world and its the virus of deception, and the one who is behind the virus of deception is the arch-deceiver, Satan himself. And it's not a surprise to me that, in the midst of all this deception, the great effort that is going on is to shut down churches that preach the Gospel." How did Archbishop Cordileone put it? "The Evil One is at work here."

Pastor MacArthur then added, "We received a letter with a threat that we could be fined or I could go to jail for a maximum of six months. Of course, my Biblical hero, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, is the apostle Paul...so I don't mind being a little apostolic if they want to tuck me in jail. I'm open for a jail ministry. I've done a lot of other ministries and haven't had the opportunity to do that one, so bring it on."

You have to love the man. And as Catholics we should join hands and minds and hearts with other Christians, with men and women like Pastor MacArthur, as we fight the battle against the powers of the world. I really believe that it will be through our common suffering and persecution that the unity Jesus Christ longs for will come about.

Homily: Saturday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

To view a video of this homily, click here.
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Readings: Ex 24:3-8 • Ps 50 • Mt 13:24-30
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Our first reading from Exodus describes a remarkable event in salvation history, for here we read how the Israelites, the children of Abraham, confirmed their covenant with God. It was really quite a formal occasion. But for us today, it also offers insights into what actually happens right here at Mass, helping us better understand the words of consecration during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Let's look at our Exodus passage a bit more closely.

Moses assembled all the people and then led them through a rather interesting ritual. Perhaps it was a little primitive for our 21st century sensibilities, but let's try to set them aside for a few moments. The rite included sacrificial slaughter of young bulls. Moses then took half of the blood of these bulls and splashed it, poured it out, on the altar. Note that the altar represented God's presence and its 12 pillars the 12 tribes of Israel, God's People.

Moses then read the Book of the Covenant to the assembled people, so they would know exactly what obligations they had and what God had promised. When Moses asked the people if they agreed, if they ratified the covenant, they responded:

"All that the Lord has said, we will hear and do" [Ex 24:7].

Of course, If you know your Biblical history, you'll know that for the next 1,000 or so years they seldom listened to the Lord and only rarely did what He told them. 

But at the time they seemingly had good intentions. And so Moses, after accepting their agreement, took the other half of the bulls' blood and sprinkled it on the people. But listen again to Moses' words as he splashed that blood on them.

"This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of His" [Ex 24:8].

Yes, the people, by their agreement and this shedding of blood, were now bound to the Lord God in a most solemn way. It's all of one piece: the altar, representing God; the people assembled before it; and the blood, which for Jews was the sacred life force, is sprinkled on both. Can any agreement be more solemnly ratified?

Moses Sprinkling the Blood of the Covenant

Well, yes, it can, and it happens every day right here on this altar, and in the presence of this assembly of the People of God. What were those words of Moses?

"This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you" [Ex 24:8}.

And what does the priest say, what words does he use, over the chalice of wine, during the solemn consecration?

"Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of Me."

These, of course, are words of Sacred Scripture, straight from the Bible, from four passages in the New Testament. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says:

"Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins" [Mt 24:27-28].

In Mark's Gospel we find similar words:

"This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many" [Mk 14:24].

And again in Luke:

"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you" [Lk 22:19].

And finally, St; Paul in his first Letter to the Corinthians also describes the Lord's words of consecration:

"This cup is the new covenant in My Blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" [I Cor 11:25].

Blood of the New Covenant

The difference between the two covenants? This New Covenant, this final covenant, does not involve the blood of animals as a symbolic representation of the covenant between God and His people. No, this New Covenantal bond is solidified by the Blood of God Himself. And to be real, to be a true bond between God and us, it must be real Blood, God's Blood. 

Jesus, man and God, through His sacrificial death on the Cross, binds us to our God so uniquely, so deeply that, with the Incarnation itself, it tears down the all the walls that would separate us from God. We, then, are His people, and this bond happens right here, through the Blood of the Lamb of God. 

Just as Jesus perfected and completed the sacrifice of Moses, so too did He perfect and complete the Law of Moses. This is why the consecration is real, why the Blood is real. If it remained only wine it would be meaningless, just another symbol, signifying nothing. 

Brothers and sisters, leave here today, bound to the Lord, ready to do His work in our broken world.

Homily: Mass and Healing Service

This morning, Saturday, July 13, we celebrated a Mass followed by a healing service at our parish, St. Vincent de Paul in Wildwood, Florida. A nice crowd of folks attended and most took part in the healing service that included prayers over each individual and the laying on of hands. The sacrament of Reconciliation was also available. 

The Mass was for Saturday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time, and was celebrated by Father Cromwell. I assisted and was privileged to preach the homily.  

A video is embedded here, and the complete text follows:

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Readings: Gn 49:29-32, 50:15-26a; Ps 105; Mt 10:24-33

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Good morning. Praise God in His goodness, Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It's so good to see so many here early on a Saturday morning. And how good it is just to be here today. How good it is to come together this morning to thank our loving, merciful God for His gifts, especially His gift of life. And not just for the gift of this earthly, bodily life, and all that comes with it: 

The loves of our lives, and our family and friends;

The lifetime of experiences that form and transform us;

The beauty and wonder of God's Creation that surround us.

Not just for these gifts, but for the gift of our true vocation, the gift of eternal life.

Yes, indeed, we are receivers of God's gifts. I first learned this just as the Lord intended us to learn, from Him, but through another. I learned it from a disciple of Jesus, from my mom. 

Mom in the 1950s

She died on March 12, 1977. I had just flown in from the Philippines on emergency leave to be with her at Cape Cod Hospital. I had only a few hours with her before she died, but in that time, she said something remarkable to me:

"Everything is a gift," she said, "even this horrible disease. God takes it all and turns it to good. It has taught me so much."

At the time I was in my early 30s, too young, probably too dense, too broken, and too grief-stricken to understand what she was telling me. But if we listen, over time life itself has a way of teaching us the truth.

Yes, God takes it all and turns it into good, something we see demonstrated beautifully in today's first reading from Genesis.

Joseph, Jacob's fair-haired boy, had been treated rather shabbily by his jealous brothers. I suppose that's a bit of an understatement; in their hatred they'd actually planned to kill him but thanks to Reuben ended up just selling him into slavery.

And here they are, years later, cowering before a now powerful Joseph, afraid that he will take his revenge on them. But not Joseph, and to them he says these remarkable words:

"Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children" [Gn 50:19-21].

Did you catch all that?

Joseph and His Brothers in Egypt

That evil done by his brothers, like the evil that took my mother's life - "God meant it for good." Is Joseph saying that God desired the evil deeds of his brothers? No, not at all.  Joseph is simply telling his brothers and us exactly what Paul told the Roman's when he wrote:

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" [Rom 8:28].

Brothers and sisters, God calls us, just as He called Joseph. We "are called according to His purpose." Just think of what this means. As baptized Christians, you and I, each one of us, has an active role in God's plan for His Creation, His purpose.

We are called. We ain't just spectators, folks. 

But Jesus always challenges us. And it's through these challenges and our response that God reveals His plan for us. These challenges take many forms: physical illness, emotional distress, damaged relationships, spiritual dryness...and all involve suffering. And when we're in the midst of suffering, it can be hard to accept that we still have a role in God's plan. 

Diane and I are hospital chaplains, and on our assigned days we receive a list of newly admitted patients. We try to visit as many as we can. A few months ago, I stopped by the room of a man on our list. Unfortunately Diane wasn't with me that day, or I'm sure it would've gone a lot better.

Anyway, after I introduced myself, he just said, "Well, I'm kind of a Christian..."  I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I figured it was a good start. He went on to tell me he'd just turned 60, had been retired for two months, but had suffered a heart attack. He was now recovering from emergency heart surgery.  But then he said something unexpected:

"I can't believe this has happened to me. I probably won't be able to do all the things I'd hope to do in retirement. What kind of life will that be? God sure does mess with you sometimes, doesn't He?"

I just looked at him and said, "Brother, you're alive! God has given you another chance to live, to do His will in the world. You should be overjoyed."

Listening to him, his real problem became evident,. It wasn't his disappointment over what just happened; no, it was his fear of what might happen.

Diane and I have never viewed this hospital ministry as a time to proselytize, to "convert" people. No, it's just a time to call them back into the loving arms of God, because that's what life is really all about. And quite simply fear was keeping this man from God's embrace.

In our suffering we so often ask God the wrong questions. Instead of "Why me, Lord?" perhaps we should be asking Him to ease our fears and help us accept our new role as a wounded disciple.

It's there in our readings, in both Genesis and Matthew. Twice Joseph tells his brothers not to fear. And Jesus? Three times in that brief Gospel passage he tells the apostles, "Do not be afraid..." 

Yes, God knows fear can paralyze. It can blind us to the reality of His love for us and undermine our faith. Most people think that the opposite of faith is disbelief or doubt or skepticism. But they're wrong. The opposite of faith is fear.

This is why Jesus, so often, tells us not to fear. It's why, throughout the Gospels, those who came to Jesus for healing, came to Him unafraid. They came to Him in faith. Had they been fearful they never could have approached the Lord.

They knew the truth about themselves but they weren't stopped by it. They didn't think, "I'm not holy enough. I'm such a sinner. Why would God heal me? Why would He even consider carrying out His will through me?"

Oh, they knew they were wounded. And they knew they were sinners, but they came to Him anyway. They came to Him in faith. They heard God's call and responded.

God calls, and in that call He reveals his plan for us. You and I are still growing up in Christ, still struggling to be like Him. How did Jesus put it?

"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Mt 5:48].

What does this mean? 

Well, since Jesus very clearly said: "The Father and I are one" [Jn 10:30], maybe if we just look at Jesus we can come up with an answer.

He certainly did a lot of preaching and teaching, didn't He? But the one thing He did everywhere He went was heal; and He called His disciples to do the same. St. Paul explained that call when he told the Galatians: 

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" [Gal 6:2].

That's right, we are to bear more than our own burdens; we must bear each other's burdens. In other words, we are healers - that's what we all are. We are all healers. OK, let me qualify that a bit: we're all wounded healers.

And we're wounded in so many ways: spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and, yes, physically. We're wounded because of our humanity, because of our fallen human nature and we can't escape it, not on our own. We need God's healing help.

What a marvelous paradox: we are healers in need of healing. Yes, indeed, we are wounded and we are healers - wounded healers - but God isn't finished with us.

In His patience, He waits for our response because He wants so much more for us. And through His grace He offers us mercy, forgiveness, and healing as we stumble along on our pilgrim way to the Kingdom.

How to be a wounded healer? 

Well, this morning you might try looking at the folks seated around you. They're wounded too, in need of God's healing grace.

Right now, just take a moment to turn to those seated near you -- you know, your neighbors, the ones you're called to love -- and tell each of them you will be their intercessor, you will pray for their healing. And tell them the same thing later when we extend the sign of God's peace to each other.

If you're going to be a wounded healer, the kind you are called to be, the kind filled with faith and not fear, you must extend God's love to others. How did John put it? 

"Perfect love casts out fear" [1 Jn 4:18].

And so today, lift up your own healing need to the Holy Spirit, who does God's work in the world. After all, He is the Lord and Giver of Life, so let Him fill you with His divine life, His grace, His peace. Give Him your permission to heal you. Place your need in His hands and let His will be done in your life.

And then, brothers and sisters, having abandoned yourself to God's will, you can turn your heart to another, and another, and another, to those who need a wounded healer in their lives.

Praised be Jesus Christ...now and forever.

Homily: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

I've embedded a video of my homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This homily was preached on the Saturday vigil of the Solemnity, 22 June 2019. The posted text of the homily follows the video.

Readings: Gn 14:18-20; Ps 110; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11-17
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Today we celebrate the beautiful Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. We used to call it Corpus Christi -- the Body of Christ -- and many of us will probably continue to call it that, if only out of habit. But the Church, in her wisdom, changed its name to reflect more accurately the reality of what happened at Calvary and the Last Supper, and what will soon happen here on this altar. Though the Blood of Christ was always implied in was never particularly affirmed in this particular feast. Now it is, and this is good. Yes, it's good to celebrate this feast, but really at every Mass we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ.

Some years ago in my previous parish on Cape Cod, I was enjoying the coffee hour after the 9 o'clock Mass. As I admired a new mural of the Last Supper in the parish hall, a parishioner standing beside me said, "Wouldn't it have been wonderful to have been there?"

Of course I agreed with her. Who wouldn't? But in truth we don't have to imagine. Because every time you and I participate at Mass, we are, in essence, truly present with Jesus, and with Peter, John, James, Matthew, with all the Apostles in that upper room in Jerusalem. But that's not all. We're also truly present at the foot of the cross.

Now how can this be? How can we be in the upper room and on Calvary when we're obviously gathered together here in this little corner of Florida 2,000 years after the events we commemorate? Quite simply, because Jesus promised us that this is true. And then He sealed that promise -- God's New Covenant - with His own Body and Blood and confirmed it with His Resurrection.

As St. Paul reminded us in the second reading, he "received from the Lord what He handed on to" us, and "Every time...you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes" [1 Cor 11:23,26].

For it was on the Cross that Jesus gave all of humanity its greatest gift. Through His death, and the shedding of that precious Blood, he redeemed us from our sins and opened the gates of eternal life. Now that's quite a gift!

And at the Last Supper, that very first Mass described by Paul and in each of the synoptic gospels, Jesus anticipated His sacrificial death on the cross the following day. And by doing so, He gave us another gift, the Eucharist.

Do you recall the words? They're the same words that Father Cromwell will utter a few moments from now.

"This is my Body which will be given up for you."

"This is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." [Lk 22:19-20].

Notice that Jesus didn't say, "This is bread and wine, symbols of my body and blood." 

No, He was quite explicit. "This is my body...This is the chalice of my blood." And with these words, Jesus fulfills the promise He made to the disciples almost a year before when He told them:

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" [Jn 6:54-56].

Many of the disciples left Him and that point. Weak in faith, they were unable to accept such a teaching. Only the Apostles and a few faithful ones remained. Why? Peter answered this when he said:

"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." [Jn 6:68].

And yet the Apostles really didn't understand these words until much later, until after the events in the upper room and on Calvary and at the tomb. Only then did His promise, and His command "Do this in remembrance of me" [Lk 22:19] reveal His intention, His gift of the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the Mass.

The Mass is not simply a memorial, like a tombstone. Neither is it merely a repetition of the sacrifice on the Cross. As St. Paul told us, Jesus died "once for all" [Rom 6:10]. His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient for our salvation. 

The Mass is a unique kind of memorial in which Jesus is again present just as He was on the Cross - just as present as you and I are here today. It's the sacrifice of Christ offered on the Cross and remaining ever present.

Indeed, the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Mass are a single sacrifice. The work of our salvation is still being carried out through each Mass, through the power of Christ's death, through the power of the Resurrection.

As the Second Vatican Council instructs us: the Eucharist is a cornerstone of our faith, "the source and summit of Christian life." But how many Catholics today truly believe this? 

Before we moved to The Villages 15 years ago, my wife, Diane, taught fourth grade at our local parish school in Massachusetts. One day, during a lesson on the New Testament, she asked her class to name some of Jesus' miracles. Lots of hands immediately shot up. One by one the children spoke of Jesus curing lepers, the blind, the lame. One mentioned the multiplication of the loaves and fishes; another the miracle of the water and wine at Cana. And one child brought up the miracle of the Resurrection.

But then one boy said, "Every day, all over the world, Jesus performs a miracle when acting through his priests he changes bread and wine into his Body and Blood." How did Jesus put it? 

"Father, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike" [Mt 11:25].

We can, in fact, be more certain of the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist than we can of anything in our lives. Not because of the faith of the Church, or the faith of the priest, or even our own faith; but because of our Lord's promise made 2,000 years ago. As man he promised, and from heaven as the Son of God he keeps his promise. The Eucharist is and remains his gift.

How sad for those who deny the Eucharist, and reject his gift, his promise, his love. For out of His love He provides for His continuing presence among us, letting us share in its fruits. 

The Eucharist turns us from sin and intensifies our attachment to the things of God, and God Himself.

It plunges us into the life of Christ, deepening our commitment to his Church and its work.

Through this communion we are one with all who are in Christ, especially the suffering and the poor, who become the object of our special love. 

So, even as we celebrate the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we celebrate its transforming power in our lives. We celebrate the desire to serve that was born in our hearts: a desire that has brought us to the present moment, a desire to be a true Christian, another Christ in the world.

"Do this in memory of me" [Lk 22:19].

As Jesus gave up his life for us, so too must we, his disciples, give up our lives in service to him and to our brothers and sisters.

St. Ignatius of Loyola called the Holy Eucharist the greatest proof of God's Love. Remembering that love, we might well ask ourselves:

What should I do for Christ, who gave everything for me?