Homily: Saturday, December 18 - Year 2

Readings: Jer 23:5-7; Psalm 72; Mt 1:18-25

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Don't you just love the language of Jeremiah?

"I will raise up a righteous shoot of David...This is the name they give him: 'The LORD our justice'" [Jer 23:5-6].

And then the words of Psalm 72:

"He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment... the lives of the poor he shall save... And blessed forever be his glorious name; may the whole earth be filled with his glory" [Ps 72:2,13,19].

These words, this Word of God, like the entirety of the Old Testament, point to one thing, the coming of a Savior. Yes, the revealed Word of God points to the incarnate Word of God, a revelation fulfilled in today's Gospel passage from Matthew. Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy tracing 2,000 years of the human ancestry of Jesus from Abraham to Mary.

But then Matthew's focus changes. No longer does he look down on Israel through the long lens of history. Quite suddenly, Matthew entered the lives of two people in the little Galilean village of Nazareth. And just as suddenly, these two lives, the lives of Mary and Joseph, were changed by the Word of God, a Word that echoed throughout the entire created universe.

In Luke's Gospel the angel announces this Word to Mary, a Word she accepts into her very being. Indeed, her womb now becomes the center of that universe. But in Matthew we witness another annunciation, this time in a dream to Joseph, who responds in full obedience. Yes, Joseph, goes on to protect, to name, to decide, to nurture, to accept all that God reveals to him...for Joseph is a man of deep faith.

But did you notice, in both annunciations, the angel's appearance begins with the words, "Be not afraid"? The angel wouldn't have said those words unless fear were present. And its presence is understandable. God entered into these two lives in an incomprehensible, a fearful way, in a way that even today, after 2,000 years of theological study and speculation, we still don't fully understand.

Yes, the Incarnation is a mystery, the manifestation of the revelation to Joseph:

"...they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us'" [Mt 1:23]. 

But what a promise this is! Brothers and sisters, God is with us!

When we see the world shrouded in so much darkness, like Joseph we can trust completely in the light of Christ to guide us, for God is with us.

When we experience deep discouragement in our lives, when we're overcome by fears or worries, when the challenges seem too great to face, we need only recall God is with us...for we are not alone. Like Joseph, we need only accept God's presence. Turn to Jesus today and let Him enter your heart. Push aside the obstacles that you and world place in His path. 

Pope Francis wrote that many today act as if God doesn't exist.  A "practical relativism", he called it, "a lifestyle which leads to an attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost." 

Say no to selfishness. Avoid the pragmatism that transforms us into "mummies" - lifeless beings who deny the reality and the hope of Jesus Christ. In the pope's words: "Our faith is challenged to discern how wine can come from water and how wheat can grow in the midst of weeds...Say yes to a new relationship with Jesus."

This is our Advent call: to open our hearts to Jesus' coming today, in the midst of our darkness, often a very personal darkness. If you and I let Him love us, forgive us, tell us we’re not alone, then we can face any challenge with hope, even when our union with Jesus leads us to the Cross, we are with him on the path to eternal life.

"Come, Lord Jesus" [Rev 22:20], into our hearts today.

 

May Day

Today, the first day of May, has a long, ancient history as a day to celebrate the arrival of Spring with festivals, maypoles, dancing and other fun activities. The May celebrations of the ancient Greeks focused on the goddess Artemis since she was the goddess of the hunt, the wild, childbirth, and other activities related to newness. I remember, back when I studied Latin in high school, having read that the Romans dedicated May to the goddess Flora, to whom they attributed new growth. They also celebrated with plays and Dionysian rituals that our Latin teacher wouldn’t describe. Knowing how the Romans liked to party, I’m pretty sure they probably overdid it. And I suppose many of these ancient traditions just continued in modified form, even as Europe became increasingly Christian.

But why do so many celebrate Spring in May when the season really begins, at least astronomically, in late March at the vernal equinox? I think the answer is obvious. Late March and all of April are simply not trustworthily spring-like. Winter just doesn’t like to leave when it’s supposed to, and if you’ve lived up north, you’ll have experienced many April snowstorms. May is really the first Spring month we can trust. And we don’t have to go back too many years to encounter winters without electricity and central heating. Winters in those pre-modern centuries were a lot colder, darker, and bleaker, so the promise of warm weather was the promise of real change, something to be celebrated. Back when I was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, we called those bleak days from January until the first touch of Spring the “dark ages,” and to us they seemed very dark indeed, especially for Plebes who were effectively held captive until Spring leave, which is Naval Academy speak for Spring break. 

Of course, as Catholics we celebrate our Blessed Mother during the month of May. This, too, has roots that extend back at least to late medieval times but really became more widespread during the past 300 years. Many parishes celebrate with a May Crowning in which a statue of Mary is crowned with a floral wreath and carried in procession. The month-long celebration also includes daily family recitation of the Rosary, and other Marian devotions. May is a special month to celebrate our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our Mother. Given what’s happening in the world today, we need her intercession more than ever. 

 

Celebrating Stalin - Moscow May Day (2017)

 

In recent years, however, the first day of May has taken on other meaning. Just this morning I heard a newscaster say that “Today is May Day, when we honor workers.” Honoring workers is certainly a good thing, but I suspect this newsman is unaware of the origins of this version of May Day. May 1st was named “International Workers’ Day” by the Communists and socialists of the Second International in Paris in 1889. They called it “May Day” as a way to co-opt the traditional May Day. The Catholic Church, specifically Pope Pius XII, recognizing the problem that could arise by associating honest work with atheistic Communism, in 1955 made today a special feast day to honor St. Joseph the Worker as the patron saint of workers. He is certainly a fitting patron since he supported Mary and Jesus as a carpenter, and taught those same skills to Our Lord.

So go ahead and celebrate workers today, but do so by honoring St. Joseph and devote the rest of the month of May to honoring our Blessed Mother. Pray the Rosary daily this month, asking Mary to intercede for our broken world.

Final Session of our Seminar in Biblical Typology

Earlier this evening we conducted the fourth and final session of our brief summer course in Biblical Typology. It's a big subject, so a four-hour course can only scratch the surface.

We had a wonderful group of  participants. Between 65 and 80 people attended each session. They were obviously very interested in the subject (after all, they kept coming back for more) and I trust they all found it spiritually rewarding.

The course PowerPoint presentations -- in both PowerPoint and PDF formats -- are available on the "Documents" page of my little Bible Study website here: Parish Bible Study

Also available on that page is all the handout material provided to the participants.

If, however, you would rather just view the Session 4 PowerPoint online, you can view it here: Biblical Typology Session 4.

Homily: Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

March 19

Readings: 2 Sm 7:4-5,12-14,16; Ps 89; Rm 4:13,16-18,22; Mt 1-16,18-21

St. Joseph, whom we honor today, is one of those great figures whom we often overlook. From the Gospel story of the conception, birth and childhood of Jesus, there emerges this quiet, modest figure, the perfect model for fathers today.

Just consider the sort of man he must have been. God the Father, out of all the men who ever lived, chose one, Joseph, to be the guardian, the teacher, the guide of His only Son, Jesus. He also chose Joseph to love and protect Mary, the virgin Mother of the Son of God. Yes, Joseph must have been a very special man indeed.

Take some time today and read those first two chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, to remind yourself of the kind of man Joseph was. There we see a courageous man of honor who wants to protect Mary’s reputation. Why? Because he’s a righteous man and this is what God would want.

We see a man who takes Mary as his wife even though the child she bears is not his. Why? Because God told him to take the Child and His Mother to himself. And so Joseph obeys.

We see a man protects his young family by leading them into exile, into an unknown future. Why? Because God told him to. Joseph doesn’t wait to think it over. No, he leaves immediately in obedience to God’s command. He “rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt” [Mt 2:14]

What a mystery for us to ponder! That God, in order to protect His Son, the uncreated Word of God, should choose to do so through the mediation of a humble carpenter. It’s all a piece of the greater mystery of the Incarnation, in which Father and Holy Spirit now relate to the Son not only as Divine Word but also as incarnate Man.

Matthew glosses over the flight to Egypt in a few words, but the reality would have been a nightmare. Traveling by night, hiding by day, the Holy Family would have required perhaps three or four weeks to travel the 300 miles through an inhospitable desert from Jerusalem to Alexandria. Once in Egypt, as homeless refugees, the family would rely solely on Joseph to earn a living during their years of exile.

Just when Joseph had probably established himself as a carpenter in this foreign land, God tells him to return to Israel, and once again he obeys. The murderous Herod was dead, but in Judea and Samaria, his son, Archelaus ruled, and Joseph rightly feared him, since Archelaus began his rule by slaughtering 3,000 of Judea’s most influential citizens. And so Joseph, again obedient to God, guides Mary and Jesus far to the north, to the safety of a small town nestled in the hills of Galilee, to Nazareth. It is, therefore, through the obedience of Joseph that the prophecies are fulfilled. “Out of Egypt I called my Son” [Hos 1:1]. And “He shall be called a Nazorean” [Mt 2:23; Is 11:1]

God doesn’t reveal everything to Joseph at once. Instead, Joseph remains continually dependent on God’s next word. For Joseph, the just man, is nevertheless fully human, and like all of us he must learn to grow in God’s love and grace. He must experience, as we all must, the trial of faithfulness, the trial of perseverance in seeking out the Will of God in our lives. And so Joseph waits patiently for God to speak, just as God waits patiently for Joseph to grow in fidelity to His Will.

It’s in the home of Joseph and Mary, that Jesus grows to maturity. It’s here that Joseph, according to Jewish custom, teaches Jesus to recite his prayers, to sing the age old Psalms of David, and to read from the Torah, the Law of Moses. It’s from Joseph that Jesus learns to appreciate, first hand, the importance of following the laws and customs of His people. It’s from Joseph the carpenter that Jesus comes to recognize the value and dignity of work.

It’s here, where Jesus encounters daily a man who is happy in being poor in spirit, happy in being meek, happy in being just and merciful, happy in being pure of heart, in being singlehearted. Later, when Jesus begins His public ministry, he will often speak of God the Father as “Abba” or Daddy. And it was from the loving and caring Joseph that Jesus first learned what a daddy was.

At the heart of Joseph’s sanctity is his unquestioning obedience to accept the Will of God in his life…and to act on it. And because he obeys, God comes to him again and again. God walks in Joseph’s soul just as He walked with Adam in the Garden. Is it any wonder that He entrusts to Joseph what is most precious to Him?

We owe honor to Joseph, and honored indeed would Joseph be if fathers today would accept him as their model. And mothers would turn to him, asking for his fatherly intercession in the lives of their children.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Homily: Feast of the Holy Family

Readings: Sir 3:2-6,12-14; Ps 128; Col 3:12-21; Mt 2:13-15,19-23
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As a deacon, husband, father and grandfather, there are two days in the liturgical year that have special meaning for me.

One is St. Stephen's Day, when we honor St. Stephen, the first deacon and the first martyr. The other is the feast of the Holy Family. And this year they both fall on the same day…today.

Like most of you whose children are grown, coming together as a family is increasingly rare. What Diane and I once took for granted are now special times, moments to anticipate and cherish.

Family relationships are certainly different, aren’t they? We’re drawn to each when crises arise. And for most of us, it’s wonderful to be surrounded by one's family. I’d like to be able to say our family is the ideal, populated by perfect people, but you’d know I was lying. We’ve had our share of problems and crises and arguments and slammed doors and tears. But, you know, the problems are eventually solved, just as each crisis is invariably overcome. And the arguments and slammed doors? Well, they always seemed to end in apologies and forgiveness and hugs, with the tears wiped away.

I’d like to take the credit, for even a small piece of it, for all the good things, but again I’d be lying. Despite 42 years of crises, large and small, Diane and I realize we’ve been blessed when it comes to our children and the love we have for each other and for our family. We’ve come to realize that it’s God who works His Will through us and through our weaknesses. And so we continue to struggle to discern His Will in the life of our family.

Now I know that many of today’s families have very serious problems, indeed. And many households are really not families at all, but simply groups of individuals who happen to share the same accommodations.

The Holy Family (Raphael)

Oh, how we need the example of the Holy Family in today's world, a world openly hostile to marriage and the family. By most statistical measures, the family is an institution in sharp decline. The symptoms are all around us in a profound shift in cultural values away from family commitment and toward self-fulfillment, away from self-sacrifice and toward self-gratification. The divorce rate is well over 50%. 40% of today’s children are born outside of marriage. The plague of abortion has devalued not only the child, but human life itself. Large numbers of fathers abdicate their parental responsibility and abandon both mother and child.

Some few years ago our elder daughter was teaching 2nd grade in an inner city school in California. The fathers of 40% of the children in her class were in prison. But even in affluent families, mothers and fathers spend increasingly less time with their children, or devote themselves to their children’s material well-being and success at the expense of their spiritual well-being and moral character.

Single parenthood is a fact of life today, and it carries with it a whole set of financial, emotional, and psychological burdens. If raising a child today is a challenge for a two-parent family, just imagine what’s it’s like to do it alone. Most single parents love and care for their children admirably, but can we really expect them to be both mother and father? What have we lost when the beneficial effects of a loving, caring father are lacking? When masculine role models are found only outside the family, too often in objectionable ways?

Now I’m no sociologist, so I won’t even attempt to explain these problems and their causes. But today, on the Feast of the Holy Family, we might do well to consider an often overlooked figure in the Gospels. As Matthew relates the story of the conception, birth and childhood of Jesus, there emerges a quiet, modest figure, the perfect model for fathers today, St. Joseph.

Just consider the sort of man he must have been. Out of all the men who ever lived, God the Father chose Joseph as the guardian, teacher, and guide of His only Son. And He chose Joseph to love and protect Mary, the virgin Mother of the Son of God. Yes, Joseph must have been a very special man indeed.

* a courageous man of honor determined to protect Mary’s reputation. Why? Because he’s a righteous man and this is what God would want.

* a man who then takes Mary as his wife even though the child she carries is not his. Why? Because God told him to take the Child and His Mother to himself. And so Joseph obeys.

* a man who, to protect his young family, leads them into exile, into an unknown future. Why? Because God told him to do so.

Joseph doesn’t stop to think it over; he doesn’t even spend a day planning the trip. No, he leaves immediately in obedience to God’s command. He “rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.”

What a mystery! That God, to protect His Son, the uncreated Word of God, should choose to do so through the mediation of a humble carpenter. It’s all part of the greater mystery of the Incarnation, in which the Father and the Holy Spirit now relate to the Son not only as Divine Word but also as incarnate Man.

Flight into Egypt

Matthew glosses over the flight to Egypt in a few words, but the reality was surely a nightmare. Traveling by night and hiding by day, the Holy Family would have required several weeks to travel the 300 miles through an inhospitable desert from Jerusalem to Egypt. Then, as homeless refugees, the family would rely solely on Joseph to earn a living during their exile. And just when Joseph had probably established himself in this foreign land, God tells him to return to Israel. Once again he obeys.

The murderous Herod is dead, but in Judea and Samaria, Herod's son, Archelaus now rules, and Joseph fears him. And rightly so, since Archelaus began his rule by slaughtering 3,000 of Judea’s most influential citizens. And so Joseph, again in obedience to God’s command, guides Mary and Jesus far to the north, to the safety of a small town nestled in the hills of Galilee, to Nazareth. It’s through the obedience of Joseph that the prophecies are fulfilled. “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” And “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

Notice how, throughout Matthew’s brief narrative, God doesn’t reveal everything to Joseph at once. No, Joseph remains continually dependent on God’s next word. For Joseph, the just man, is nevertheless fully human, and like all of us must learn to grow in God’s love and grace. He must experience, as we all must, the trial of faithfulness, the trial of perseverance in seeking out the will of God in our lives. And so Joseph waits patiently for God to speak, just as God waits patiently for Joseph to grow in fidelity to His will.

It’s in Nazareth, in the home of this family, that Jesus grows to maturity. It’s here that Joseph, according to Jewish custom, teaches Jesus to recite his prayers, to sing the age old Psalms of David, and to read from the Torah, the Law of Moses. It’s from Joseph that Jesus learns to appreciate, first hand, the importance of following the laws and customs of His people. In Nazareth, working alongside Joseph in his carpenter's shop, Jesus comes to recognize the value and dignity of work. Here, in the home of Joseph, Jesus encounters daily a man happy to be poor in spirit, happy to be meek, happy to be just and merciful, happy to be pure of heart, to be singlehearted.

Later, when Jesus begins His public ministry, he often speaks of God the Father as “Abba” or Daddy. And it was from the loving and caring Joseph that in his humanity Jesus first learned what a daddy was. At the very heart of Joseph’s sanctity is obedience, an unquestioning obedience to accept the will of God in his life…and to act on it. And because he obeys, God comes to him again and again. God walks in Joseph’s soul just as He walked with Adam in the Garden. Is it any wonder He entrusts to Joseph what is most precious to Him?

Mary and the child Jesus remain almost hidden in this Gospel narrative, contained in the decisions and actions of Joseph. Joseph leads, but doesn’t dominate. He leads by serving – by serving His God and by serving His family. Then, his task complete, Joseph seemingly disappears from view. His work is finished. Jesus, whom he has loved, taught, and protected, must now step forward into the light of history. Joseph, like John the Baptist, like you and me: "He must increase. I must decrease."

On March 19th, in the Preface of the Mass of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the celebrant honors Joseph with these words:

He is that just man, that wise and loyal servant, whom you placed at the head of your family. With a husband’s love he cherished Mary, the virgin Mother of God. With fatherly care he watched over Jesus Christ your Son, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We Catholics have always prided ourselves on our devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. How it would please her to see us, and especially those of us who are fathers, deepen our devotion to her husband. With Jesus we owe honor to Joseph, and honored indeed would Joseph be if fathers today would accept him as their model. And if single mothers would turn to him, asking for his fatherly intercession in the lives of their children.

Today, on this beautiful feast of the Holy Family, let us pray for our families, and especially for fathers. Would that all fathers were just men like Joseph -- wise and loyal servants of the Lord who cherish their wives and watch over their children with fatherly care.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Happy Father's Day, St. Joseph

 I don't especially enjoy Father's Day. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the cards and phone calls, and this year one of our daughters will arrive here tomorrow, along with her husband and our two young grandsons. We're looking forward to a nice visit, a Father's Day treat. What I don't enjoy are the thoughts this special day brings to mind. Every Father's Day I find myself recalling those times when I was particularly un-fatherly, the times I didn't come through as I should have for my children. I realize I can't undo the past, but that doesn't stop me from wishing I had been a better father.

Earlier today, as I dealt with these conflicting thoughts, I said a prayer to St Joseph, the man God chose to care for His Son. And I think he's worth our attention on the day devoted to fathers.

From the Gospel story of the conception, birth and childhood of Jesus, there emerges this quiet, modest figure, the perfect model for fathers today.

Just consider the sort of man Joseph must have been. God the Father, out of all the men who ever lived, chose one, Joseph, to be the guardian, the teacher, the guide of His only Son, Jesus. He also chose Joseph to love and protect Mary, the virgin Mother of the Son of God. Yes, Joseph must have been a very special man indeed.

In the Gospels we see a courageous man of honor who wants to protect Mary's reputation. Why? Because he is a righteous man and this is what God would want.

We see a man who then takes Mary as his wife even though the child with whom she is pregnant is not his. Why? Because God told him to take the Child and His Mother to himself. And so Joseph obeys. 

 We see a man who, to protect his young family, leads them into exile, into an unknown future. Why? Because God told him to do so. Joseph doesn’t wait to think it over; he doesn’t even spend a day planning the trip. No, he leaves immediately in obedience to God’s command. He “rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.”

What a mystery for us to ponder! That God, in order to protect His Son, the uncreated Word of God, should choose to do so through the mediation of a humble carpenter.  For this is a piece of the greater mystery of the Incarnation, in which the Father and the Holy Spirit now relate to the Son, not only as Divine Word, but also as incarnate Man.

Matthew, in his Gospel, glosses over the flight to Egypt in a few words, but the reality would have been a nightmare.Traveling by night and hiding by day, the Holy Family would have needed weeks to travel the several hundred miles through inhospitable desert from Jerusalem to Egypt.

Once in Egypt, as homeless refugees, the family would rely solely on Joseph to earn a living during their years of exile. And just when Joseph had probably established himself as a carpenter in this foreign land, God tells him to return to Israel, and once again he obeys.

The murderous Herod is dead, but in Judea and Samaria, his son, Archelaus, now rules. Joseph fears him, and rightly so, since Archelaus began his rule by slaughtering 3,000 of Judea's most influential citizens. And so Joseph, once more in obedience to God’s command, guides Mary and Jesus far to the north, to the safety of a small town nestled in the hills of Galilee, to Nazareth. So it is, through the obedience of Joseph, that the prophecies are fulfilled. "Out of Egypt I called my Son" and "He shall be called a Nazorean."

Again turning to Matthew’s brief narrative, we notice that God doesn’t reveal everything to Joseph at once. Instead, Joseph remains continually dependent on God’s next word. For Joseph, the just man, is nevertheless fully human, and like all of us he must learn to grow in God’s love and grace.

He must experience, as we all must, the trial of faithfulness, the trial of perseverance in seeking out the will of God in our lives. And so Joseph waits patiently for God to speak, just as God waits patiently for Joseph to grow in fidelity to His will.

It is in Nazareth, in the home of Joseph and Mary, that Jesus grows to maturity. It is here that Joseph, according to Jewish custom, teaches Jesus to recite his prayers, to sing the age old Psalms of David, and to read from the Torah, the Law of Moses. It is from Joseph that Jesus learns to appreciate, first hand, the importance of following the laws and customs of His people.

It is in Nazareth where, working alongside Joseph in his carpenter's shop, Jesus comes to recognize the value and dignity of hard work.

It is here, in the home of Joseph, where Jesus encounters daily a man who is happy in being poor in spirit, happy in being meek, happy in being just and merciful, happy in being pure of heart, in being singlehearted.

Later, when Jesus begins His  public ministry, he will often speak of God the Father as "Abba" or Daddy. But it was from a loving and caring Joseph that Jesus first learned what a daddy was.

At the very heart of Joseph’s sanctity is his obedience, an unquestioning obedience to accept the Will of God in his life…and to act on it. And because he obeys, God comes to him again and again.

God walks in Joseph's soul just as He walked with Adam in the garden. Is it any wonder that He entrusts to Joseph what is most precious to Him?

Mary and the child Jesus remain almost hidden in this Gospel narrative, contained in the decisions and actions of Joseph. Joseph leads, but he does not dominate. He leads by serving – by serving His God and by serving His family.

On March 19th, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the priest honors this exceptional man when he prays these words from the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer:

“He is that just man, that wise and loyal servant, whom you placed at the head of your family. With a husband’s love he cherished Mary, the virgin Mother of God. With fatherly care he watched over Jesus Christ your Son, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We Catholics have always prided ourselves on our devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. How delighted she would be to see us, and especially those of us who are fathers, to deepen our devotion to her loving husband.

With Jesus we owe honor to Joseph, and honored indeed would Joseph be if fathers today would accept him as their model. And if single mothers would turn to him, asking for his fatherly intercession in the lives of their children.

And so, as we celebrate Father's Day tomorrow, let's pray for our families, and especially for fathers. Would that all fathers were just men, like Joseph, wise and loyal servants of the Lord who cherish their wives and watch over their children with fatherly care.

Happy Father's Day, St, Joseph. Pray for us.