Friday, April 30, 2010
Homily Third Sunday of Easter 2010 / Bishop’s Appeal
The internationally-known and timeless Frank Sinatra –
one of the 20th century’s great musicians and cultural figures –
is best remembered for his signature song “My Way.”
One might even consider that song the theme of his exciting self-made life,
and in certain ways it is.
Since Frankie made it famous, “I did it my Way”
has been a quintessential description of an accomplished life.
However, it is interesting to note, his tombstone in
includes an inscription from another of his famous songs.
His final resting place bears the words: “The best is yet to come!”
With everything from Burger King to Chase Bank
encouraging us to have it our way and to live how we want,
Frankie’s “My Way” is a theme
running through much of our contemporary culture.
And yet, the harsh realities of life show us that we can’t always have it our way,
and that living only for ourselves, or for this world,
ends in heartache and frustration.
Selfishness doesn’t help anyone to be happier.
Our experience proves this time and again.
The scriptures in the Easter season –
readings taken from the post-resurrection Gospels,
the accounts of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles
and the Book of Revelation
focus our attention on higher realities than this world:
the love of God, the witness of the Church, and the glory of heaven.
In today’s Gospel, the apostles encounter the Risen Jesus while fishing.
On shore, Jesus has prepared a fire around which they all prepare and eat a meal.
Then, after the meal, Jesus engages Peter in a conversation of great significance.
Recall that, on the eve of Jesus’ passion, as He predicted,
Peter denied even knowing Jesus, three times,
while standing around a charcoal fire outside the home of the high priest.
To make up for his denial and pledge once again his loyalty to Jesus,
Peter now stands with Him, again around a charcoal fire,
and three times declares his love.
With each proposal of the question “Do you love me?”
Peter becomes more frustrated as the wound of his denial is re-opened
and he comes face-to-face with his human weakness.
Yet, with his pledge of love a deep bond is formed
and on the foundation of that love, professed without reservation,
Jesus issues his command to follow Him and to feed his sheep.
The encounter that Peter and the apostles have with the Risen Christ
changes their lives forever
and once they are filled with the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost
they are compelled to proclaim the Good News
of their new life in Christ
and even to be joyful that they suffer dishonor for the sake of His name
as the Acts of the Apostles recalls for us today.
We hear Saint Peter speaking boldly before the Sanhedrin,
whose hatred for Jesus had led them to persecute His followers.
Peter says: “We are witnesses to Jesus. We must obey God rather than men!”
The apostles could no longer hide, deny, or cover up their love for Jesus.
They do not seek to have everything their way but God’s way!
They do not live for themselves, or for this world, or for man’s approval,
but for Heaven, their true home, where, indeed, the best is yet to come!
You and I have also encountered Christ and have been changed:
in His Church, through Word and Sacrament
in the common faith and sacrificial love of fellow Christian people.
We also possess the gift given to the apostles:
God’s love in our hearts, the Spirit dwelling in us because of our Baptism.
This is not a gift we can keep within us.
We, like Peter and the others, are compelled by our love for Jesus
to reveal His presence in our lives
and even to suffer dishonor for the sake of His name.
We are called to live not for ourselves but for Him who has loved us,
not for this world but for Heaven’s eternal joys.
Jesus shows His love for the apostles by inviting them to “Come, have breakfast.”
They experience His presence in simple ways: as He feeds them
and in their companionship with the Risen Christ.
The poor, suffering, and neglected of our community
experience companionship with the Risen Jesus through our love
as we share our resources and ourselves.
The work of Catholic Charities in our six-county diocese
is the living presence of Jesus for so many people in need:
people who have lost jobs, young mothers, parents of sick children,
and families struggling, even while working hard, to make ends meet.
The number of people helped by CC has increased by 35% this past year.
So, this weekend, on behalf of Bishop Murry and Father Helman,
I come to ask your support for the 2010 Bishop’s appeal.
The appeal is the primary source of funding for CC
as well as a source of funding for diocesan ministries and programs:
marriage and family life, religious education, vocations, and others.
The appeal allows the work of the Church in our midst to continue.
This year our parish goal is $139, 991.
50% of money raised above goal returns to the parish.
Personally, I give the full amount asked of diocesan priests to this appeal
and I ask you to join with me in supporting Bishop Murry
the work of our Church and the needs of our community,
by a generous pledge.
Our gift today may not seem valuable to us, will not bring us any worldly honor.
But today we store up treasure in Heaven.
Every gift matters…none is too small.
We all experience the burden of difficult economic times,
but today the love of God in our hearts
calls us to take part in witnessing to the presence of Jesus
by sacrificing for the sake of the suffering
and for the good of the Church.
Take envelopes…
Suggest $150.00 per family per year…
Many donors have given in advance…
Thanks…
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Indeed we are glad!
The appointment of Archbishop Jose Gomez to the see of Los Angeles is probably the most significant episcopal appointment in the last 30 years.
Los Angeles has been the source of an endless stream of dissent, open challenges to the Holy Father, and infectious progressive drivel for the last 40 years. The Church in LA may very well become smaller but will certainly grow stronger and be closer to the heart and mind of the Church and the Heart and mind of Jesus. For this we must rejoice. Christ is Risen! He is alive and has appeared to Los Angeles! The Mystical Body of Christ, the Church in LA, will rise from the progressive tomb and live again in the Light of Christ!
I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a little time with the Archbishop when he visited the seminary I attended. I recall that I and many others were impressed by him.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop_gomez_deeply_grateful_for_los_angeles_appointment/
Today's readings reveal the constancy of the presence of Christ in the Church. In the Gospel, Jesus opens up the Scriptures for the disciples, revealing how they spoke of Him all along. He shows them that He is the fulfillment of all the ancient law and prophets foretold. He reminds them of what must happen and how they are witneses of God's saving work to all the nations. In the first reading from Acts, Peter is speaking to the crowds of people in the portico of the Temple. He is speaking to Jews and contextualizes the person of Christ and His saving message within the history of the Jewish people. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had glorified Jesus, the Scriptures proclaim Him, Moses and the prophets foretold Him. And we are witnesses of these things. What Peter speaks is an extension of what he heard from Jesus. This is the very definition of Tradition: what Christ spoke, the Apostles handed on, and the Fathers safeguarded. Peter presents Jesus just as He revealed Himself: the fulfillment of all the law and prophets. The Church continues to proclaim Jesus Christ as He truly is and all that a relationship with Him entails. We are witnesses of these things!
The Church holds the Tradition. The Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, as Vatican II and Pope Benedict XVI have clearly stated. In other words, all that Christ intended for His Church remains complete and permanent in the Catholic Church.
Christ has revealed God to us in the most powerful way: His Paschal Mystery. The Church witnesses to the reality of that revelation and its implications.
Today's Collect begins "Father, you gather the nations to praise your name..." At the Easter Vigil men and women across the globe entered the Church. Last year the Holy Father announcemed the establishment of a special canonical structure and ordinaries to facilitate Anglicans coming into the Church. Many members of the Anglican Communion are disenfranchised because of the continual splintering within their community. Last week the U.S. Anglican Bishops voted to ask the Pope to bring their 120 parishes and 3,000 persons into the Catholic Church. Similar decisions are being debated in other countries. The Church holds the Tradition and it is a beacon of hope and truth for many. Christ is gathering the nations to praise His name!
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/anglo-catholic_bishops_vote_for_rome1/
These are the days the Lord has made, and indeed we are glad!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
The Easter Homilies
Easter Vigil 2010
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen! Alleluia!
On this most sacred of all nights
the heavenly powers sing in jubilation
all the earth exults in the shining splendor of the conquering king
This sacred place resounds with joy
echoing the mighty praise of God’s people, redeemed by the risen Christ!
Tonight we bask in the glory of the Light of Christ
listen with reverence to the great stories of salvation history
bathe in the saving waters of Baptism
and rejoice that Christ has returned to us
and is alive in the Eucharist we celebrate once again on the third day.
With excitement the Apostles and the women who cared for Jesus
proclaimed to one another in the brightness of Easter morning:
He is alive and has appeared to us!
For over two thousand years hence the Church has proclaimed the same message:
Christ is a alive and has appeared to us
in Word and in Sacraments
in Scripture and Tradition
in the ministry of priests and the love and service of all God’s people.
Tonight our world-wide, trans-cultural, and centuries-old family of faith
welcomes nineteen of its newest members
through the waters of Baptism and the anointing of Confirmation.
You have been preparing through the RCIA process for this most special night
when your souls are joined to Christ permanently and indelibly
as members of His Mystical Body.
We welcome you into our local parish under the patronage of St. Michael –
a community of faith with a rich history and a legacy of service.
More significantly we welcome you into the universal Church,
which has for two millennia transcended all human boundaries
holding fast and proclaiming the fullness of Christ's love and truth.
This great family includes people of every race.
We are young and old, rich and poor, men and women.
We are sinners and saints.
We have spanned the centuries and the globe.
With God’s grace, we have established hospitals to care for the sick.
We have built orphanages to rescue God’s precious children.
We have served the needs of the poor and brought comfort to the afflicted.
Our religious and lay teachers educate more children
than any other academic institution.
Our scholars and monks developed the scientific method and the college system.'
We defend the dignity of all human life
and uphold the sacred realities of Marriage and family.
At 1.2 billion, we are the largest religious community in the world.
Many of the world’s greatest cities are named after our revered saints.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Fathers of the Church compiled the Bible.
We are guided in the ways of faith by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
which together reveal the Word of God to us.
Jesus Christ is the foundation and center of our faith
and encountering Him more deeply is the goal of our lives.
Our Church is grounded in an unbroken succession of shepherds –
from Jesus’ chosen Apostles under the leadership of Saint Peter
to the pope and bishops of our own day
who proclaim God’s love and truth in a confused and hurting world.
In a world of chaos and hardship,
we take comfort in knowing that some things are consistent, true and safe:
the teachings of our Catholic Faith and the eternal love of our God.
We rejoice in the precious gift of the seven Sacraments,
outward signs of God’s hidden grace.
and especially for the Eucharist, the living and abiding presence of Jesus Christ
in the Mass and in the tabernacles of our churches throughout the world.
We have prayed for the world for centuries as we offer the Mass
and our priests have been instruments of mercy in every age and land.
Tonight we welcome nineteen men and women
into this extraordinary community of faith.
Tonight the waters of the font give birth to the newest Christians
as they are reborn in Baptism.
Tonight we who have been Catholic for many years
consider for ourselves how we might renew and deepen our faith
and more deeply experience the fullness of what Christ desires to give us
in the teaching, sacraments, and traditions of our Church.
We are one family, united in Jesus Christ, who is alive and revealing Himself to us!
My dear friends about to be baptized and confirmed…
we are the Catholic Church…
welcome home!
Easter Sunday 2010
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen! Alleluia!
On this most sacred of all days
the heavenly powers sing in jubilation
all the earth exults in the shining splendor of the conquering king
This sacred place resounds with joy
echoing the mighty praise of God’s people, redeemed by the risen Christ!
This morning we bask in the glory of the Light of Christ
are sprinkled with the saving waters of Baptism
as we renew our commitment to Christ
and rejoice that He has returned to us
and is alive in the Eucharist we celebrate once again on the third day.
On Easter morning the women travel to the tomb where Christ was buried
expecting to find His body
and to anoint Him with the spices they had prepared.
Yet when they arrive they find the stone rolled back,
the tomb empty
and the body of Jesus gone.
Mary Magdalene is stricken with sadness and panic:
“They have taken the Lord
and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
The women and the Apostles are confused and in fear,
having experienced the cruel and burial
of their trusted friend and teacher
and now unable to find His body.
Peace returns to their lives and hearts only when they can see Jesus again.
He appears to Mary, who is weeping outside the tomb,
then to a few disciples on the road to Emmaus
and finally on Easter evening to all of them gathered in the upper room.
He speaks to them, allows them to touch Him, and embraces them.
They have seen Him once again, have touched His body,
and rejoice that their beloved Jesus has returned to them.
They had seen for themselves the lifeless Jesus and sealed the stone-cold tomb.
And now…oh what wonder and amazement…He is alive!
With excitement the Apostles and the women who cared for Jesus
proclaimed to one another:
He is alive and has appeared to us!
For over two thousand years hence the Church has proclaimed the same message:
Christ is alive and has appeared to us!
And we have seen His body…His Mystical Body, the Church…
and His Mystical Body is alive!
The universal Church has for two millennia transcended all human boundaries
holding fast and proclaiming the fullness of Christ's love and truth.
Our great family includes people of every race.
We are young and old, rich and poor, men and women.
We are sinners and saints.
We have spanned the centuries and the globe.
With God’s grace, we have established hospitals to care for the sick.
We have built orphanages to rescue God’s precious children.
We have served the needs of the poor and brought comfort to the afflicted.
Our religious and lay teachers educate more children
than any other academic institution.
We defend the dignity of all human life
and uphold the sacred realities of Marriage and family.
We are guided in the ways of faith by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
which together reveal the Word of God to us.
Jesus Christ is the foundation and center of our faith
and encountering Him more deeply is the goal of our lives.
Our Church is grounded in an unbroken succession of shepherds –
from Jesus’ chosen Apostles under the leadership of Saint Peter
to the pope and bishops of our own day.
In a world of chaos, hardship, and heartache,
we take comfort in knowing that some things are consistent, true and safe:
the teachings of our Catholic Faith and the eternal love of our God.
We rejoice in the precious gift of the seven Sacraments,
outward signs of God’s hidden grace.
and especially for the Eucharist, the living and abiding presence of Jesus Christ
in the Mass and in the tabernacles of our churches throughout the world.
We have prayed for the world for centuries as we offer the Mass
and have been an instrument of mercy in every age and land.
Christ is alive as well in our local parish under the patronage of Saint Michael.
Last night at the Easter Vigil we welcomed eighteen men and women into the Church
through the waters of Baptism and the anointing of Confirmation.
We have at least 6 young men in our parish considering a vocation to the priesthood
and a strong committee of parishioners supporting them
and working and praying for vocations.
We have a vibrant respect life committee
which brings to our minds knowledge and opportunities
to help form us as a community that loves all human life.
We have a dedicated and talented music ministry,
which gives life to our celebration of the liturgy
and increases the richness of our prayer.
We have an active social concerns committee and extensive outreach to those in need.
We have a strong Catholic school, the Parish School of Religion,
and vibrant Life Teen program.
We adore the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday during the day.
Our ministries reach out to the grieving, the sick, hospitalized and homebound.
Our volunteers and staff serve the community with love and faith.
In these and other ways we are confident that Christ is alive and has appeared to us
in the life and ministry of the universal Church
and in our own parish of Saint Michael.
What is more, His Body, the Church, is alive!
Today we consider for ourselves how we might renew and deepen our faith
as we renew our commitment to Christ.
We consider how we might more deeply experience
the fullness of what Christ desires to give us
in the teaching, sacraments, and traditions of our Church.
If you have been away from the Church, please see the bulletin
for information about Catholics Returning Home.
We are one family, united in Jesus Christ. We are the Catholic Church.
Christ is alive and is revealing Himself to us.
May we answer the call to join him in His redeeming work.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Good Friday 2010
O what wonders took place, long ago and far away, on a lonely hill called
The world in darkness
The sun blotted out
The earth trembling
A civilization in turmoil
A blasphemer crucified on a rugged cross forgiving the sins of His executioners
A pagan centurion witnessing that he has indeed beheld the Son of God
O what a heart-wrenching scene – this death on a Friday afternoon!
The crucified man’s closest friends scurry and scatter, filled with fear
His scourged, torn, pierced and bloody body suspended from the gibbet of the cross
His mother pierced with swords of sorrow beyond all human telling
He is misunderstood by the judge, mocked by the soldiers, betrayed by His friends
His few possessions become the prize in a game of dice as they watch Him bleed
O what staggering realities take place, for this is no mere criminal!
God Himself is delivered into the hands of lawless men
The Creator of all is made subject to His creatures
The Son of God is shackled and beaten and ridiculed
The Messiah is scourged and His flesh torn off with each painful whipping
The Redeemer is pierced with nails and a lance
The Anointed One, dripping with blood, parched with thirst, and gasping for breath
comes to a pathetic and agonizing end on the death-bed of the Cross
This ignominous death is not merely a punishment
forced upon a rabble-rousing blasphemer
even if it should seem so to the Jews and the Romans.
No, in this story the real power is not found in Caiaphas or Herod or Pilate
but in God, His Christ, and His Christ's infinite love and self-offering.
This is the story of a torture accepted without complaint
a cross embraced and kissed
a sacrifice offered willingly for sinners by an innocent lamb
and for the unjust by the Just One Himself
Jesus Christ today offers Himself totally and without reservation
taking upon Himself the sin, the sorrow, and the guilt of us all
suffering cruel punishment in our place
and freeing us from slavery to sin by His saving death.
This is God’s greatest and most powerful act of love.
This is the eternal sacrifice of
and inaugurates the new one.
This is no longer the continual and ineffective temple sacrifices of bulls and goats
but the one true and perfect sacrifice
in which Jesus offers Himself and sheds His own blood.
He who is at once both priest and victim offers for our deliverance
the oblation of His own body.
By His humility and obedience He is made perfect
and greatly exalted by God our Father
and becomes the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
And yet look how we forget Him, walk away from Him, take His name in vain,
neglect to serve Him in our brothers and sisters,
increase the weight of His Cross
as we heap upon Him the multitude of our sins.
Look how we are consumed by our self-worship, scourging Christ in one another,
failing to offer ourselves in love to even our families,
let alone those less fortunate in the shadows of our community.
Look how we increase His sufferings
as we betray, ridicule and shackle one another with our selfishness
crush spirits with our indifference
and pierce hearts with our cruel words.
And yet, how Christ loves us so perfectly and completely
that as He climbs the road to
He calls to mind everyone that He redeems,
each and every one of us who are struggling to love
and willingly endures His Passion with His beloved before His face.
He thought of you. He wept for love of you. He died for you…and for me.
This is love! This love is more powerful than any human sin!
From the pierced side of Christ flowed blood and water,
the fountain of sacramental grace which gives life to the Church.
From the well-spring of the sacraments we drink deeply of that saving tide
and through it experience the fruits of Christ's sacrifice on
Today there is no Eucharistic Prayer
for we mourn His death and await His resurrection.
In obedience to Christ, we shall return to the Altar at Easter…
and innumerable times hence…to offer the sacrifice of the Mass
in which the power of Christ's love comes alive in our midst
and in which we are united to His saving death on the Cross.
It is Christ who is active in the Eucharistic Liturgy, making Himself truly present to us.
If we sing “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
we can answer: “At Mass, I am there!”
We approach the Altar to offer bread and wine which become the living Christ
and also to offer ourselves in a living sacrifice of praise.
as we offer ourselves…our body and blood…in all that we do for others.
One who labors for the good of others sacrifices in love for their sake.
A mother who bathes, changes diapers, and mends the pierced hearts of her children
wipes the sweaty and bloody face of Jesus.
All who suffer injustice and heartache are united with the unjust suffering of Christ.
Those who work to cleanse the wounds of the abused
and meets the needs of the outcast and starving
anoint the body of Jesus with the precious ointment of charity.
This is the “passion” of the Mystical Body of Christ – the Church –
the daily self-offering of our bodies and blood in love for others
and the offering of our whole selves in the Church’s prayer of the
In this we are one with Christ in His redeeming work.
Through these sacred realities grace overflows in abundance,
lives are transformed,
God’s presence is made known
and the incomparable mysteries contained in the horrific scene of
come alive and are made real for the salvation of the world.
O Lord Jesus crucified, Have mercy on us!