Homily: St. Stephen’s Day (December 26)

Merry Christmas! Our Redeemer is born! 

But today, I can also offer you another greeting: Happy St. Stephen’s Day!

For us deacons, today is one of our special days. On this day after the solemnity of Christmas, we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr.

It might seem a bit strange to join these two feasts – the memorial of the Church’s first martyr and the celebration of the birth of our Redeemer – an odd contrast between the peace and joy of Bethlehem and the tragedy of St. Stephen…for Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem during the first persecution against the nascent Church.

And yet this seemingly odd contrast is very much in tune with the mystery of Christmas. The Child Jesus, born in the stable, the only-begotten Son of God, will ultimately save humanity by dying on the Cross.

Today we encounter Him as a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. But later, after His passion and death, His body will again be wrapped, but placed in a tomb.

In the Eastern Church, icons sometimes represent the newborn Jesus lying in a small sarcophagus, presenting us with a vivid reminder that the Redeemer was born to die, born to give His life as a ransom for all.

St. Stephen was the first to follow in our Lord’s steps; and like Jesus, he died forgiving and praying for his executioners. By doing so he set the stage for all the saints of the early Church who would follow him to martyrdom. This army, a countless multitude, the liturgy calls "the white army of martyrs."

The early Church did not view their deaths as a reason for fear and sadness; indeed, quite the opposite. Back in the 2^nd century Tertullian described the blood of the martyrs as the seed of the Church, a source of spiritual enthusiasm, always giving rise to new Christians.

And believe me, it will be the same today as the Church experiences increased persecution throughout the world, with many Christians following in the footsteps of St. Stephen.

We should be praying for them and for all those persecuted for the Faith. Pray that they will have the strength to persevere, to realize that the trials they suffer are really a source of victory.

Martyrdom of St. Stephen

And pray too for the Church’s deacons. We need your prayers as we strive to serve God and His people in the many ways He calls us. For the word deacon simply means “servant” – and serve we must.

The deacons of your parish serve today in jails, and hospitals, and nursing homes, and soup kitchens. They assist in the faith formation of children and adults. They’re involved in healing ministries and provide spiritual direction.

They teach, they preach, they heal, and in doing so look to St. Stephen as the model of the servant every Christian is called to be.

Yes, we need your prayers, so that we will have the strength and the courage to do God’s work in the world.

St. Stephen died a martyr, but died filled with joy; and so, we can say again, Happy St. Stephen’s Day. 

Homily: Wednesday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Dn 5:1-28; Dn 3; Luke 21.12-19

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If the gospel message is good news, then why do so many oppose it with hostility and even violence? Jesus warns us that we’ll be confronted with persecution, evil, false teaching, and temptation. And how does Jesus tell us to respond to all this? With love, with truth, with forgiveness.

Only God’s love can defeat bigotry, hatred and envy, and all that would divide and tear us apart. Only God’s truth can overcome the lies and confusion in the world; for that’s what the Gospel is, God's word of truth and salvation. Jesus, then, tells his disciples to proclaim the gospel throughout the whole world, even in the midst of opposition and persecution.

If they persevere to the end they will gain their lives – they will see God's salvation.

Such endurance isn’t a product of human effort. It’s a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift strengthened by the hope that we’ll see God face to face and inherit His promises. Jesus, of course, is our model: He who endured the Cross for our sake and salvation; Jesus who calls us to love, to die to ourselves.

You know, the Greek root of the word martyr means witness? True martyrs live and die as witnesses to the Gospel, to Jesus. The Book of Revelations calls Jesus “the faithful witness ...who freed us from our sins by his blood." And Tertullian, a second century lawyer converted when he saw Christians singing as they went out to die at the hands of their persecutors. He compared the blood of the martyrs to “seed,” the seed of new Christians, the seed of the Church. St. Augustine spoke of this too: "The martyrs were bound, jailed, scourged, racked, burned, rent, butchered – and they multiplied!"

Christians multiplied because the martyrs witnessed to the truth, to the joy and freedom of the Gospel; and they did so through the testimony of their lives. They witness the truth: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”

 “God so loved the world…” He doesn’t love just part of it. No, He loves it all. He loves each one of us. It can’t be otherwise because He created each human being in an individual act of love. We must remember that Jesus died on the Cross for Jews and Gentiles, for Christians and Muslims, for Hindus and Buddhists, for agnostics and atheists.

By our witness as Christians, others will recognize Christ’s victory on the Cross, his power to overcome sin, fear, hatred, even death itself. When the world looks at us, it has the right to find in us a reflection of the glory of the Trinity. The world has a right to discover in our faith, hope, and love a testimony to the Holy Spirit’s presence.

The problems that have arisen in Christ’s Church over the centuries, and exist even now, are not caused by the Holy Spirit; they’re caused by the mediocrity of Christians, by our lukewarmness. As the great G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

What brings others to Jesus Christ and His Church is seeing Christians loving their enemies; seeing us joyful in suffering, patient in adversity, forgiving of injuries, and showing comfort and compassion to the hopeless and the helpless. 

This, brothers and sisters, is our calling.

St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr. Irenaeus was a remarkable saint, born c. 130, who died a martyr about the year 200 or shortly afterwards. Born in Asia Minor, he was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who happened to be a disciple of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. Irenaeus, then, was only two generations away from those who knew and walked with Our Lord. 

As an early missionary, Irenaeus eventually made his way to Gaul, to the Roman city of Lugdunum, now known as Lyon. This was during the time of great persecution and in 177, when the Bishop of Lyon, Pothinus, was martyred, along with dozens of other Christians, Irenaeus was chosen as his successor. It was a position he would hold until his own martyrdom almost 25 years later.

Unfortunately, only a few of the saint's writings have survived, but those that we have are enough to show us the brilliance and the sanctity of this Early Church Father. From these writings we realize that the Church had already developed a fully Catholic theology very early. Much of Irenaeus' writings were directed against the Gnostic heresy which had already infected parts of the Church. Gnosticism was a rather diverse heresy, but one version claimed that the real truths of Christianity were secret knowledge accessible only by a select few. Countering this, Irenaeus wrote his primary work, Against Heresies. It’s a wonderful work and should be more widely read today since echoes of ancient Gnosticism can still be heard from too many politicians, and even from some Christians. 

I don’t intend here to offer a review of St. Irenaeus’ works but would like to share just one brief passage in which this early bishop and theologian describes the presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the Old Testament. Too many Christians seem to think the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, was somehow hidden away in some heavenly cell before the Incarnation. St. John, of course, tells us otherwise with the very first words of his Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” [Jn 1:1-3].

As John reveals, the Son, the Creative Word of God, was present from the beginning. Now read what St. Irenaeus had to say about that presence:

“The Son of God has been sown everywhere throughout the Scripture [of Moses]. Sometimes He speaks with Abraham, sometimes with Noah, giving him the measurements of the ark. He looks for Adam, brings judgment on the Sodomites. There are times when He is actually seen, guiding Jacob on his way, speaking with Moses from the bush.”

We must never forget that Jesus, the Word of God Incarnate, is also the Word of God Revealed. Read Irenaeus. The above link connects to an excellent translation of his major work, with a beautiful introduction by the great twentieth-century theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar.  

Homily: Saturday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time (Year 1)

Readings: Dn 7:15-27; Dn 3; Luke 21:34-36

Here I am, only a couple of years from 80, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when anxiety and fear have filled the hearts of so many.

COVID has had its effect on a lot of folks, and yes, many in my age group have succumbed to the virus, but in truth most have survived. And yet, so many are overcome by fear. And now the world is panicking over a new variant out of Africa.

To add to our anxieties, we have obvious inflation and a rising cost of living. Then, as we look at our nation and the world, we see far too much division and hatred and threats. Yes, it seems to be a time of very fragile peace, a time of real uncertainty. And yet Jesus tells us, again and again, not to be afraid, but so many seem to ignore Him.

About 35 years ago, back when I was a business consultant, I used to travel a lot. One Sunday afternoon, driving my rental car through the hills of Arkansas, I heard a radio preacher tell his audience that we were only a few years, perhaps just months, from the tribulations and the Second Coming. As I recall, he was the minister of a Free Will Baptist Church. Let me paraphrase what he said that day:

“Jesus is coming, brothers and sisters. But first He’s gonna let the earth be scoured by Satan and his minions. Don’t you be afraid of them. Put away all those fears and get ready for Jesus. He’s coming soon, real soon, and you’d better stop all that sinning. If you don’t call on the Lord and repent, you just won’t be strong enough.”

I have to admit, I loved it. Of course, Jesus hasn’t returned yet, so his timing was off, by how much nobody but God Himself knows. But the preacher’s message was actually pretty good and mirrors the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. How did Jesus put it?

"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life...Be vigilant... Pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations" [Lk 21:34,36].

I’ll admit, many years ago, the first time I thought about those words, I had a hard time picturing those first-century Jews out carousing. In truth, though, I suppose they weren’t much different from us. Even The Villages has its share of carousing and drunkenness, and certainly its share of anxiety.

But we’re all disciples of our Lord, Jesus Christ, so we must allow Him to take away our fears. After all, the Gospel is the Good News, the promise of an eternal life beyond anything we can imagine.

If the gospel message is good news, then why do so many oppose it with hostility and even violence? Jesus warns us that we’ll be confronted with persecution, evil, false teaching, and temptation. But how does He tell us to respond to all this? With love, with truth, with forgiveness.

Only His Way, His Way of peace, His way of love, can defeat bigotry, hatred, and envy, and all that would divide and tear us apart.

Only God’s truth, His revealed Word, can overcome the lies and confusion in the world.

And only God’s gift of life, eternal life, can carry us to the salvation He promises.

Only Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life can dissolve all those fears that plague so many today.

I don’t know if you and I will see those tribulations… probably not. But we are still called to proclaim the Gospel wherever God has placed us – called to be to be witnesses.

Did you know the Greek root of the word martyr means witness? The Book of Revelations calls Jesus “the faithful witness ...who freed us from our sins by his blood" [Rev 1:5]. 

St. Augustine spoke of this too: "The martyrs were bound, jailed, scourged, racked, burned, rent, butchered – and they multiplied!" Christians multiplied because the martyrs witnessed to the truth, to the joy and freedom of the Gospel; and they did so through the testimony of their lives.

So maybe, instead of fearing the world and its evils, we should just be joyful that we have heard the Good News, received the gift of faith, and are called to share it all with others. What brings others to Jesus Christ and His Church is seeing Christians loving their enemies; seeing us joyful in suffering, patient in adversity, forgiving of injuries, and showing comfort and compassion to the hopeless and the helpless.

This, brothers and sisters, is our calling.

Homily: Wednesday, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Rev 15:1-4; Ps 98; Luke 21.12-19

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If the gospel message is good news, why then do so many oppose it with hostility and even violence? Jesus, of course, predicted this. He warned us that we'll be confronted with persecution, evil, false teaching, and temptation.

But the Gospel's real enemy is Satan - the one Jesus calls a "murderer" and "father of lies" [Jn 8:44].

Earlier this week, as hospital chaplain, I was visiting the room of a man suffering from a heart ailment. He told me he was no longer a practicing Catholic, having decided to leave the Church the same day he left the Marist Brothers novitiate 50 years ago.

He said he believed in God, loved Jesus, but didn't accept the existence of evil, and he particularly didn't believe in Satan. All the bad things people did were simply the result of selfishness, mental illness, and other psychological disorders.

We had an interesting conversation, and while I don't think I changed his mind, he said he might stop by our church some Sunday and give it a try.

Of course, he's wrong about Satan. Satan's not some psychological construct; no, Satan is very real, and he uses fear and hatred to encourage the persecution of those who follow Jesus Christ.

How did Jesus respond to all this? With love and truth, with forgiveness and mercy.

Only God's love can defeat bigotry, hatred and envy...for only God's love purifies our hearts and minds of all that would tear us apart.

Because Satan deceives and sin blinds the heart and mind, God's truth is also essential. Only God's truth can overcome the evil and tribulation in the world. Only God's truth can free us from error and spiritual blindness. The Truth. That's what the Gospel is, brothers and sisters, God's word of truth and salvation.

That's why Jesus tells his disciples to proclaim the gospel throughout the whole world [Mt 28:19], even in the midst of opposition and persecution [Lk 21:12,16-17]. And He promises his disciples that if they endure to the end they will gain their lives [Lk 21:19]. They will see God's salvation and inherit eternal life and happiness with God.

But such endurance, such perseverance - the ability to remain faithful in the midst of trails, temptations, and persecution - doesn't come from human effort. No, it is a gift, a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift strengthened by hope: the assurance that we'll see God face to face and inherit His promises. As in all things, we turn to Jesus as our model: Jesus who endured the cross for our sake and salvation; Jesus who in turn calls us to love and to die to ourselves.

Do you know the word martyr in Greek means witness? That's right, true martyrs live and die as witnesses to the Gospel. John in The Book of Revelation calls Jesus "the faithful witness...who freed us from our sins by his blood" [Rev 1:5].

Tertullian, a second century lawyer converted when he saw Christians singing as they went out to die at the hands of their persecutors. He compared the blood of the martyrs to seed, the seed of new Christians, the seed of the church.

St. Augustine spoke of this too: "The martyrs were bound, jailed, scourged, racked, burned, rent, butchered - and they multiplied!" They multiplied because Christian martyrs witnessed to the truth; they witnessed to the joy and freedom of the Gospel; and they did so through the testimony of their lives and their deaths.

A few years ago, while on a cruise ship, Diane and I met a couple at dinner. The man, born and raised just down the road in Bushnell, is now a professor at the University of Florida.

He told us that being a Catholic in Bushnell was a real challenge back then. In fact as a boy he was regularly beaten up after school, just because he was Catholic.

Years later a man approached him and said that he remembered seeing him accept those beatings peacefully, without fighting back. He'd been very moved by this. Even though he'd gone on to become a Baptist minister, his memory of our friend's witness caused him to look into the Catholic Church. He'd since converted and wanted our new friend to know it.

What attracts others to the truth and power of the gospel? Seeing Christians loving their enemies; seeing Christians joyful in suffering, patient in adversity, forgiving of injuries, and showing comfort and compassion to the hopeless and the helpless. 

True witnesses pray for their persecutors and love their enemies. In their suffering they witness the truth of the gospel.

Jesus died for us all, gave His life on the cross for Jews and Christians and Muslims, for Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, agnostics and atheists. Yes, indeed, "For God so loved the world..." [Jn 3:16] God doesn't love just part of the world. He loves it all. After all, He created the world and it was good. And He loves each of us. It can't be otherwise because He created each human being in an individual act of love.

For God so Loved the World...

Satan, on the other hand, hates us all. He seeks to destroy our faith through the fear of death and he incites others to persecute Christians for their faith in Christ.

The martyrs witness to the truth - the truth of Jesus Christ and his power to overcome sin and fear, hatred and bigotry, and even death itself.

Most of us are called simply to bear witness to the joy and power of the gospel whatever the challenges, temptations, and adversities we encounter as we follow the Lord Jesus.

But by persevering we are all witnesses; we are all martyrs for Christ.

Fr. Jacques Hamel, Martyr

Fr. Jacques Hamel was the 85-year-old French priest who was murdered by Islamist terrorists while he celebrated Mass in his church in the town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen. ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the priest's brutal death. 

In a homily at his residence's chapel this week, Pope Francis said that he expected Fr. Hamel to be canonized. The pope went on to refer to Fr. Hamel as a martyr and also repeated the slain priests final words, "Satan, begone!" Emphasizing this, Pope Francis then stated that "To kill in the name of God is satanic."

Fr. Jacques Hamel

Pope Francis continued by reminding his small congregation that martyrdom was and remains a very real part of the Church's 2,000-yearlong history. Father Hamel was the most recent in this long line of martyrs, and that today Christians in many parts of the world are "murdered, tortured, imprisoned, have their throats slit because they do not deny Jesus Christ."

The following video from Rome Reports describes the Holy Father's homily at the Santa Marta guesthouse chapel:

Interestingly, Fr. Hamel's Breviary, open to the last page he had prayed from that day, will be placed in the Basilica of St. Bartholomew where it will join the relics of other martyrs who gave their lives for the faith. In agreeing to this, the Archbishop of Rouen, Msgr. Dominique Lebrun, stated:

"I must confess that when they proposed the idea for the first time, I thought it was too soon, we should have done it later. But after listening to the pope, I saw that I was wrong. The pope was faster than me. I am very happy for this opportunity to state that Fr. Jacques is one among the many martyrs of the Church."

Here's another brief video, also from Rome Reports, describing this unique event:

Pray for the persecuted Christians of the world, and pray for the conversion of their persecutors.

Blessed Titus Brandsma, Martyr at Dachau

Blessed Titus Brandsma at Dachau

On several previous occasions I have mentioned the visit I made to the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau as a child, just a few years after World War II. That visit had a tremendous impact on me and played a significant role in the formation of my worldview. Although Catholic priests and nuns were imprisoned and killed in all of the Nazi camps, I'm pretty sure Dachau held the largest contingent. Today the Church celebrates one of these, Blessed Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Catholic priest of the Carmelite Order, who was murdered at Dachau in 1942. Considered a martyr by the Church, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Today, July 27, is his feast day.

Fr. Brandsma was a remarkable man, a professor of philosophy, one of the founders of a major Catholic university in the Netherlands, a journalist, and a staunch and outspoken enemy of the Nazis. Perhaps his most courageous act, and likely the one that resulted in his arrest and subsequent death, was his authorship of a pastoral letter by the Dutch bishops which was read in every parish in the country. In this letter, he condemned the vicious anti-Jewish actions of the Nazi occupiers, especially the first deportation of Jews to camps throughout Europe. He also made it clear to Dutch Catholics that the Nazi ideology was completely incompatible with the Catholic faith and the teachings of the Church. As a result he was arrested and ultimately sent to his death at Dachau. Interestingly, the first 3,000 Dutch Jews deported by the Nazis were all converts to Catholicism. And while the Nazis likely considered this a strong message to Dutch Catholics, it ended up having an effect opposite to that intended.

Fr. Brandsma spent very little time in Dachau. He arrived in June 1942 and was given a lethal injection by an SS doctor on July 26 of that same year. He was 61 years old. With Christlike forgiveness, Father Brandsma gave this doctor a rosary.

The following is a letter written by Fr. Brandsma (Inmate #30492) from Dachau on June 12, 1942.

Dear Brother-in-law and Sister,

If until now I wrote to the Prior of Nijmegen, now it is better to write to you. You forward the letter to the Prior. He will take care for further expedition and also for the answer in your name. The answer must be written in German. No abbreviations that are not easily understandable. If not, the letter is not passed on. I have been allowed to read the letter the Prior sent to Kleve but not to keep it, as it was in Dutch.

Many thanks for all the kind words, from yourselves, the Prior and all the others. I am all right. One has to adapt oneself once more to new circumstances and with the help of God, I'll succeed here also. Our dear Lord will also continue helping. I may write once a month only. This is now for me the first occasion. Best greetings to all. I was pleased to receive information about the number of new novices, the new priests, the results of Oss and Oldenzaal, the health of Hubert, Cyprian, Vitalis and the other patients. Best wishes for a good recovery of Fr. Subprior. If one wishes, one can send me each month 40 Marks. The Prior will gladly look after that. As Henry wrote, Kaeter the pastor has been transferred to Ribergen. Congratulate him for me. Have any other pastors whom I know been transferred? I'm still waiting for news from Akke Kramer regarding his brother John.

Many greetings to the parish priest and curates at Bolsward, to Father Provincial and all the Confreres. Let us remain united, under the protection of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Not too much worrying about me.

In Christ yours

His humility is evident as is his concern for others who are obviously living in much better conditions than he. We can only hope and pray that we will also possess such courage and humility should we be placed in a similar position...and believe me, brothers and sisters, this is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Pax et bonum...